Life Insured
by ForteXD
Summary: [complete] In an alternate universe, Kenshin has never touched a sword. In fact, he's an insurance agent by trade. You can imagine how confused he is to find that he's the mob's new hit man! KK
1. Liability

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Kenshin, nor the title Rurouni Kenshin. I don't own anything. I repeat: I am a broke high school student.**

**Summary: **When Kenshin Himura, a mild-mannered insurance agent, is mistaken for the mob's hit man, he and coworker Kaoru become entangled in a deadly plot. Can kind and innocent Kenshin rediscover his inner strength to save them in time?

**A/N: **Well, this is my very first Kenshin fic, though I've been writingInuyasha fanfiction for a year and a half now. This one was lots of fun to write, and I really think I captured Kenshin and his relationship with the rest of the cast pretty well. Be prepared for lots of suspense, interesting (and silly) twists, some romance,and good scenes for our favorite red-haired bishie. Get reading, and tell me what you think so far! Thanks!

"**Life Insured"**

**Chapter 1: Liability **

How it began, Kenshin never really understood. That morning was like any other he could have chosen out of his week. Middle of the week; middle of the road; middle aged. That's what his life at that moment could have been described as.

He was satisfied with it most of the time. His life was simple, and he liked it that way. But his life was turned on end with the visit of one simple client. How everything can change in a moment; it's almost absurd.

Kenshin recalled later what that morning had been like. He was sitting at his small desk, in his miniscule cubicle, his small frame still uncomfortable in his small office chair. It was if the square shape of the workspace was an effort to keep the mind of its occupant square and tidy. He hunched over the report in front of him, his ears naturally closing out the incessant ringing of the phones all around him. He was sure that if he had bothered to stand up to look out the window of the thirtieth floor, he might have seen only gray sky.

Everything was just as normal as usual.

His stapler was lined up exactly parallel to his jar of paperclips. His computer keyboard was at a right angle to his mouse pad. Just the way he liked it. He could have said some days that he felt disdain for the banality of it all… but he tried to keep away from those thoughts most of the time.

Kenshin felt that his throat was dry, and stood up to shuffle over to the water cooler at the far end of the hallway of cubicles. His spotless brown pants hung awkwardly over his brown loafers, both of which clashed awfully with his fuchsia tie, bright red hair and violet-tinged eyes. He leaned down to fill the paper cone with lukewarm water, and stood facing the bulletin board full of useless employee notices as he sipped.

When he heard the low voice behind him, he groaned inwardly, scorning himself for not sensing the man's approach.

"Himura! Off duty again, I see?" Even if he hadn't turned to face him yet, Kenshin could just see the sly, wolfish smirk painted on the creviced face.

Kenshin turned, his cheery smile aptly covering up the dry glare that shone in his eyes. "No, Mr. Saitou. Just getting a drink of water, that's all!"

Saitou's smirk continued to grow, as he used his height advantage to tower over the smaller man. "Well, be sure you're back at your desk. You have an important client visiting in about five minutes. I expect you'll take care of everything he needs, correct?" The expectant smile left no room for denial.

Kenshin's smile grew along with the smirk of the man above him, though his fingers twitched over the curve of the paper cup in his hand. "That I will, Mr. Saitou!" he chirped, his teeth grinding together.

"Good man! That's the kind of talk we like to hear at Imperial Insurance!" He left Kenshin with a sound slap on the back, as he swaggered off with his hands dug in the pockets of his blue silk trousers.

Kenshin looked after him with eyes narrowed, the smile forgotten. He crushed the cup in his hand until his knuckles turned white, shaking off the imbalance of Saitou's hit.

Kenshin was a fair and balanced man. He understood well people's motivations and that there were often reasons for them acting cruel and hateful. He had tried always to believe in the power of forgiveness. Kenshin didn't like to use the word _hate. _It was so generalized and vile.

How he _hated_ that man.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, a part of him was imagining handing some painful blown to Saitou with a sardonic smile. He shook the thought away quickly, knowing that these were the type of thoughts one shouldn't entertain about any person, especially his manager…well, at least they were things he knew he could never act on.

Dropping the ruined cup into the wastebasket beside the cooler, Kenshin made a beeline for his cubicle. With luck and a little more attentiveness on his part, he might be able to steer clear of the manager for the rest of the day. Back in the shelter of the square space, Kenshin slid onto his chair, sighing out all of his frustration.

"Is everything OK, Kenshin?"

His head snapped up at the sound of the sweet voice that so counterbalanced that of Saitou's. The cheery smile returned to his lips at the sight of the girl in the next cubicle, only, this time he wasn't trying to fake it.

"I'm quite alright, Miss Kaoru, that I am." Her blue eyes twinkled at him in worry despite his claim, and he tried to smile wider to prove his point.

He liked Kaoru Kamiya. They had been working side by side for months now, and he tried to speak to her whenever possible. She was young, pretty and very intelligent. He always viewed her as one of the temporary workers, though- the twenty-somethings that moved up the echelon once they realized there were better opportunities to be had. But, nevertheless, she was a much brighter flame than most of the middle-aged workers on the floor, and he enjoyed her company.

"Don't let Saitou get to you, Kenshin. He's just a big bully."

He nodded appreciatively, assuring her that he wouldn't let the manager get the better of him anymore, and Kaoru disappeared again behind the barrier.

Before Kenshin could immerse himself again in the reports, the important client that Saitou had mentioned had stepped up to the opening of his cubicle. Kenshin looked up in mute surprise, seeing a large and strikingly handsome man filling up the entryway. He stood immediately from his chair, extending a firm hand to the client.

The man waved the hand aside dismissively, hunkering his huge yet graceful body into the small plastic chair that Kenshin offered him. He sat back, almost in a bored fashion, crossing one ankle over his knee. Kenshin ignored the man's rudeness, knowing that most high-level clients could care less if they offended a peon. He hadn't even felt intimidated by the man's size. He was used to being the smallest man in the bunch. He turned to the file that Saitou had sent him, reviewing the information.

"So…Mr…Seijuro, is it? What can we do for you today?" Kenshin's smile was nothing if not disarmingly perceptive.

Hiko Seijuro had long, blue-black hair that framed his five o'clock shadow. His was a prizefighter's face- burly but softened slightly by age. The man looked very out of place in the tiny cubicle, as if it were a cage unfit for a wild animal like him.

Hiko leaned back in his chair, fixing Kenshin with an omniscient stare. "Well, I was thinking about going away for a while…disappearing, you could say." His voice was deep and booming to fit his features. "But, I suppose that's nothing an insurance agent could help me out with." He spoke it as if it were some hilarious joke Kenshin should have understood, but didn't because he was stupid.

Kenshin stared at him blankly with violet eyes, waiting for the rest.

"I was wondering how I could get liability coverage, you know- like a business."

Kenshin looked at him quizzically for a moment, his pen poised unsurely over a blank form. "You want liability….for a business? All right…what kind of business exactly is it that you own?"

Hiko stroked his cleft chin for a moment, as if deciding on the right answer. He smiled slyly to himself. "Ah…I work in public health and safety…"

Kenshin raised an eyebrow. "Public…health…" he turned again to scribble it on the impossibly small box on the form, and began shaking his ballpoint pen as he realized it wasn't working.

"Here. Take mine."

Before he could even think about it, Kenshin whirled around to see the pen flying at his face. He snatched it an inch from his eye without flinching, his fingertips balancing the pen. Hiko raised an eyebrow at the quick action, stared at the insurance agent for a long moment, but said nothing.

The red-haired insurance clerk didn't look nervous under the measuring stare, but instead ignored it as he continued to document the information on the form. Hiko spoke up again.

"Have you always been in this job, boy?"

Kenshin shrugged noncommittally. "No sir; not my whole life."

"What were you before you worked this lousy desk job?" He raised an eyebrow at the neat little color-coded stacks of folders next to his arm.

The small redhead didn't meet Hiko's eyes. "I don't think that is your business, that I do not…" He said it quietly.

"Don't you ever feel like you're in the wrong life?" He hadn't even tried to make it sound rhetorical.

Kenshin chose this opportunity to flinch- he didn't know why, but something about the accusatory way the man asked the question made Kenshin stammer out his response. "What do you mean?"

Hiko rolled his eyes. He knew the redhead had to be playing dumb. His smile and his darting, violet eyes were a lot more perceptive than he chose to let on. "Don't be an idiot, boy. You heard me. You don't belong in this cubicle. You don't fit that chair. Don't you ever want to do something more exciting with your life? Don't you wish you could ever tell these snots to go screw themselves?" Hiko saw that Kenshin was brighter than he chose to let on. It only begged the question of why he was stuck in this dead-end job.

Kenshin was very sure that he wasn't liking this man very much. His own reply took on an unusual nasal sound of annoyance that he only ever thought of using against a man like Saitou, and had never dared to use in the presence of a client. "I don't think so, that I don't…" why did he feel like hiding his eyes behind his bangs so that Hiko couldn't see his reaction?

"What?"

"I said '_no_.'" Kenshin's voice was firm now, carrying a tone that very few people could elicit from him anymore. It was hard and steady, and Hiko was surprised to have his eyes met by those that were like blue steel. "And I don't like violence of any kind."

Hiko, instead of backing off, smiled. He chuckled to himself as if he again had experienced some private joke. "You don't say…" The space was silent for a long moment, the only sounds being the hummed breath of Kenshin, and the scratching of pen on paper. "You know, I never understand when people say things like that." He studied his fingernails over the bridge of his nose. "Violence is a natural, if disgusting, human instinct. It's the only way anything can be changed. Remember- 'the strong live while the weak die.' It's futile to want to be weak. It might be time you learn that."

Kenshin struggled to regain his cheerful attitude, but he instead found the hand he had been writing with curling tighter around the pen. He didn't agree with the man, wished he would stop talking on the subject. He couldn't help that when he turned to Hiko to speak again, his voice was harder-edged than before. "Now, about you wanting liability for a private business…I'd like to know what division of health and safety you-"

He was swiftly cut off by Hiko standing up from his chair, his heavy trench coat swirling around his legs. Kenshin was again struck by how unfitting the mundane atmosphere was to the regality of the man. He opened his mouth then closed it again like a trap, not sure what to make of the man's actions.

Hiko suddenly turned and exited the cubicle, moving swiftly towards the exit on the far end of the busy room. Kenshin watched him go in confusion, suddenly leaping up to stop him. "Wait, where are you going, Mr. Seijuro? Didn't you want to finish with the insurance form? You can't have liability insurance without it…!"

The large man didn't bother to turn around, but instead looked over his shoulder at the red-haired man. "No thanks, boy. I've found what I need… Just do me a favor and think about what I said…" He raised a casual hand in a salute of goodbye as he headed towards the elevator.

Kenshin stood blocking the narrow hallway between the cubicles for a minute or so, gaping at the retreating figure. What was _that_ supposed to mean?

He dazedly returned to his desk, depositing the half-finished form in his shredder with a long sigh. On top of everything, he could imagine Saitou lecturing him for not being able to hold on to any clients. Saitou always accused him of being too "wishy-washy" and had berated him on countless occasions for being to easy with the customers. Kenshin watched the document being shred to thin strips. Today was no exception, he supposed.

But, from that point on, Kenshin couldn't get Hiko's words out of his mind- no matter how hard he tried.

Little did he know that his life was about to change- drastically.

* * *

Agent Sanosuke Sagara leaned as far back in his squeaky, unrelenting desk chair as physically possible. As his lean frame stretched gracefully, he unceremoniously plopped his gangly legs across the top of the desk. His large feet on any other body would have looked out of place, but for his tall frame, they fit perfectly.

He glanced at the clock on the wall, which always seemed to be running a few hours behind. She was late. She was supposed to have contacted him by 6 PM. But, he supposed he could forgive the little devil this once. It was, after all, a dangerous outfit she had gotten herself into. Who knew what kind of trouble she could be in at this very moment?

He shrugged the thought off dismissively, as he casually drew a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from his breast pocket. Sano wasn't a chain smoker by any means, but when it came to his partner, he sometimes felt the need to open a pack. He took a long drag on the cigarette, watching as the smoke rose lazily to hang right below the ceiling. Where the hell was she?

Just as the thought struck him, the telephone by his hand practically flew off the hook with the force of the ring. It was an attest to the ancient technology he was forced to work with. Sanosuke flipped the phone up to cradle it between shoulder and ear, pulling the end of the cigarette from his mouth.

"Yeah?" he said unceremoniously into the receiver. There was no use in formality, after all. Anyone who was calling this line knew who would pick up on the other end.

"It's me." It was hushed.

Sano sat up straighter, smashing the smoking end of the cigarette butt into his ashtray, and removing his feet from the table. "Where are you?"

The smooth, naturally husky voice paused for a second. "I'm on a payphone. I can't talk for long."

"Spill, then. What's the news?" He snatched a pad of paper and ballpoint pen from the corner of his desk with a sweep of a long arm, and prepared to write down what she told him.

"Nothing except for this: the hitter is static. He's been pinpointed to one area, and they've been told that he's planning to lay low for a while."

Sano nodded to himself, jotting down the information. "Shishio's man? He's still in action, then?"

"Still in action." She sounded distracted, as if she were checking for anybody tailing her.

"Good work, babe. Keep in touch."

Feminine indignation lifted her voice as she forgot the situation for a moment. "I told you not to call me that!"

"Sorry, babe." He grinned to himself, imagining her fuming on the other end.

"Shut your face, rooster-head. Once I get back, I'll wipe that smug smile off…."

"Megumi?" he said, quietly, interrupting her.

"What?"

"Be careful." He dropped the receiver into the cradle, and knew that she would follow suit. They both understood that it was best to make as little contact as possible.

He looked down at the pack of cigarettes on the desk in front of him. Maybe he should have just one more for good measure…

* * *

**A/N: **So, Saitou as a general manager….? Hehehe.

Please review! The next chapter shall be up very soon!


	2. Who is Kenshin Himura?

**A/N:** Thanks to everyone that reviewed the first chapter! I'm glad you like it so far. This chapter jumps into a lot more plot elements, and some more of the story line will be evident. Plus, you get some Kaoru and Kenshin interaction! Please review! 

**"Life Insured" **

Chapter 2: Who is Kenshin Himura?

Kaoru fumbled with the packet of dairy creamer, hoping futilely that the small cylinder wouldn't open rapidly and spill all over like it had the last few mornings. It seemed she was always unlucky around food items…she couldn't cook anything right, even if it just was coffee. She resisted the urge to throw the little bugger on the ground and smash it with her heels, and instead resumed in shaking it vigorously.

"Uh…Good morning, Miss Kaoru." Kaoru jumped at the sound of the soft male voice.

She looked up to see that Kenshin had just entered the break room, a small paper sack held in his hand. She looked down after a second to notice that she had somehow gotten the creamer open. "Well, I'll be…" she muttered.

"Pardon me?" He asked.

"Oh, no…it's nothing."

He shrugged lightly, pulling out a chair to hunch his self over the circular table. She watched, mesmerized as he laid out a carefully wrapped sandwich, an apple and a box of crackers in front of him with easy precision. He was so meticulous. She suddenly realized that, even if he couldn't see her, she was staring and it was impolite of her. She turned back to the coffee in front of her.

Sometimes her eyes couldn't help but stray Kenshin's way, though. Even if he was thin and almost delicate he stood out immeasurably among the heavy, balding men of their sector. His hair was a lush, deep red, his skin as pale and perfect as snow, and his face curved pleasantly with its high cheekbones. Whenever he turned to speak to her, he never spared the warm smile.

But, it wasn't just his physical features and diminutive size that made him so noticeable- it was also his carriage. Every task he performed was done in perfection, as if he was devoting all of his focus to them. When he walked down the hallway to the water cooler, or out to the elevator, there was an unnaturally cool swing to his body. And even if he often hunched over in the face of the menacing Saitou, she saw steel in his movements when he was left to his own devices.

There was also something else that continually fascinated her about him- it was a scar on his face. Long and brutal-looking, the cuts made a huge cross on his left cheek. He had never mentioned it, nor tried to hide it, but she had seen him rubbing his fingers over it before, absently, as if it brought back some memory to him. She had always wanted to know where it had come from… but never asked. Kenshin was the kind of man that you felt like you could tell anything to, yet could not ask anything of. He was an enigma to her, even if they talked frequently as friends.

"Do you mind if I join you?" she asked, as she edged up towards the table while stirring her cup of coffee.

Kenshin looked up at her, smiling his normal bright smile. But, unlike usual, the smile didn't reach his eyes. She noticed sometimes the distant look in his eyes, and it always perplexed her. They were duller then normal, and his gaze flitted away from her in distraction as she pulled out the plastic chair beside him.

"What's wrong? You haven't been looking very lively lately."

Kenshin looked surprised, and then shook it off. "I'm just thinking, that I am."

Kaoru giggled. " 'That I am'? Kenshin, you speak so formally." She gave him a sly look as his hands moved to unwrap the sandwich before him. "Are you sure it's not women troubles?" she teased.

Kaoru could have sworn that if Kenshin's eyes could have popped out of his sockets on their own, they would have. "That it…well…I-" he stumbled futilely, opening his hands in defense.

She laughed at his surprise, patting his hand with her own. "I'm just teasing you. Though, I would have supposed that you would have a wife who would make a nice sandwich like that to pack in your lunch." She nodded at the perfectly formed layers of bread, cheese and meat held in his hands. "It looks tasty."

He shook his head in relief, his eyes turned down to his food. "I do all the cooking for myself, that I do."

Silence fell over them for a moment as Kenshin leaned down to take a bite of his sandwich, and Kaoru fixed her eyes on the steaming cup of coffee in her hands that she still was stirring. She pulled a disgusted face. She wasn't even sure why she had bothered to make it in the first place. It was only inevitable that she would just toss it into the sink after spitting out the first taste. Instead of taking the fatal sip, she instead set the coffee cup on the Formica tabletop.

"Hey, Kenshin…?"

"Yes, Miss Kaoru?"

"Are you any good at making coffee?"

* * *

Sano waited for the assistant to scoop the fallen files from the floor. He didn't try to contain his sigh. The kid was a klutz- understandable because of his age, but the fact that he was in a building of federal agents made his inability stand out like a sore thumb.

"Hey, Kid. Before Christmas rolls around, OK?" He rolled his eyes.

The head of spiky, black hair shot up indignantly from the ground, the tanned face twisting sourly. "I'm not a kid, alright? And I'm moving as fast as I can. It's not _my _fault that somebody had to ask for everything ever filed since 3000 B.C.!" He made a point of glaring at the brown-haired agent each time he reached for a file off the floor.

"Well it wasn't _my _fault that somebody who shall remain nameless _threw_ them all over my office." Sano ran lazy fingers through his bangs, tapping a pen eagerly on the side of the desk. No matter how he tried not to show it, Sanosuke was impatient to see the files and ID's. He had been asking for access for them for quite some time. And, now that he and Megumi had been stuck on this particular case, he would be able to read through them freely.

With a false smile, Yahiko plunked the group of files onto Sanosuke's desk, immediately turning around to leave.

"Thanks, Little Yahiko!" Sano called out in saccharine sweetness, with a delicate wave of his fingers. He grunted at the assistant's hand gesture placed strategically over one shoulder… That certainly wasn't a finger one would show in the presence of their mother.

Ignoring the angry rattle of the blinds on the door that Yahiko had slammed when leaving, Sano sat up straight in his chair to review the files. The files were some of the most confidential in the building. If any suspicious person were to find out that they had a hold of the information contained in it, their agents might be killed. They were files that the police had never had access to, and for good reason.

Sano looked appreciatively at the black-and-white snapshot that lay front and foremost in the folder. This was the elusive man they were hunting for, but never seemed to find. _Makoto Shishio. _Shadowed and untraceable, he had been the leader of an underground mafia for over ten years since quitting his job as a military leader of great power in the government. His mafia had been growing in influence and power by the year, secretly taking control of industries on the sly, without any law enforcement being able to reach them. They were a frighteningly powerful bunch, deluded by power and a skewed world view.

Sanosuke turned the first page, seeing the roster of possible members. Some had had their existence completely wiped off the map, making it impossible to track them down, such as Shishio's right hand helpers- Yumi Komagata, the beautiful temptress, Hojo Sadojima, the chief organizer and Soujiro Seta, known as the assassin with the unfaltering smile. Other members of Shishio's clan held respectable jobs as covers for their underground activities, which made it almost equally hard to pin anything down on them.

Sano flipped on his desk light, knowing that tonight he would be burning the midnight oil. Normally, he would give himself plenty of time to pore through files as extensive as these. But, he had only so long before their time would run out.

Megumi had been out in the field for weeks now, trying to infiltrate the tight group of members. If she was able to gain trust of any of them, Sano just might have the both deserved.

Besides, with what Megumi had told him about this "hitter" of Shishio's, the operation was growing in possibility of success.

* * *

Kenshin just couldn't focus on his work today. The papers beside his elbow just kept piling up, and the telephone kept on ringing, but his thoughts weren't on insurance sales or on needy clients.

Instead, every time he tried to scan an insurance claim, Seijuro Hiko's words had come back to him.

"_You don't belong in this cubicle. You don't fit that chair. Don't you ever want to do something more exciting with your life?"_

He kept attempting to shake it from his memory, but that hadn't done him much good so far. In truth, he wasn't sure how he had felt about Hiko's assessment. Kenshin wasn't particularly unhappy where he was. It was the kind of life he had decided in favor of, long ago. There was no excitement, no surprises and best of all, no danger. It was simple, clean, rewarding work. There _were _times, when he'd walk down the sidewalk in his too-short slacks and his white shirtsleeves, and look at the men that walked beside him. They were different than he was, he supposed.

He remembered how he had _promised _her that he would do good things in the world. He had planned to be someone without fear, that wouldn't let anyone get hurt ever again. Kenshin had found, though, that it had been a difficult process for him. It was hard at this stage in his life to try to again be someone without bounds, or rules or…staplers arranged strategically next to their paperclip jars.

He looked at the stapler and sighed. Sometimes he didn't think he wanted to be "Mr. Nice Guy" anymore. Kenshin wasn't a man in favor of violence. He didn't believe in Hiko's philosophy of violence or cruelty being instinctual human behavior. But he had found that being nice seemed to mean that everyone took the initiative to walk all over you. The tale of his life seemed to tell that even if you were the nicest person in the world, you still got hurt.

Suddenly, he looked up to see Saitou towering over him. He raised an innocently inquisitive eyebrow at the manager as he snapped out of his reverie. Saitou leaned on one of the dividers as if he had no care in the world. His yellowy eyes pierced Kenshin's in shining scrutiny.

"Not much work done, eh, Himura?" He clicked his tongue in disapproval.

Kenshin tactfully chose not to respond, although he was fuming inwardly.

Saitou peered lazily at the clock on the wall. "Well, you're going to have to stay late tonight to finish up. You're the only one who knows how to handle those forms properly."

He was glad to see the blue-clothed figure turn sharply on his heel. Then Saitou, almost as if with a second thought, turned back to face Kenshin. He decidedly plopped a large stack of papers that he had been carrying, on to Kenshin's desk.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I also need you to get this stack of claims filed by tonight." Without even bothering to thank Kenshin or apologize for inconveniencing him, Saitou returned in his normal strut to go poke his long nose into some other worker's business.

Kenshin's eyes followed him as he left, and then returned with disdain to the monolith pile of claims. Great. Saitou seemed to always find Kenshin when he needed something done last minute…it was all too convenient. And Kenshin knew he wouldn't do anything about it. Most of the other workers had cleared out of the office- it was after six o'clock. Computers were being shut down, chairs pushed in, file folders clicked shut, and Kenshin was looking forward to another few hours of work.

Just when Kenshin had groaned softly at the thought of more paperwork, the shrill ring of the phone cut through his thoughts. He crawled his fingers distractedly over the mounds of papers to the phone, and snatched it up gently in his fingers. Absently shaking his red bangs from his face, he placed the phone at his ear.

"Imperial Insurance, Himura speaking. How may I help you?" He had been trained to answer the phone with a smile on his face. It would show in his voice and make the customer feel more comfortable, the administrators had nagged constantly. He didn't have the energy to smile.

The caller at the other end didn't say anything for a moment, and Kenshin rubbed the bridge of his nose in impatience. "Hello? May I ask who is calling?"

"This is the man named 'Kenshin'?" the soft voice at the end was barely distinguishable, and it spoke Kenshin's name as if it were only a nickname.

"…That it is…who am I speaking to?" Kenshin said warily, his eyebrow quirking in response. He scooted up closer to the desk, an air of confusion falling over him. Whoever was calling him sure enjoyed playing with the anonymity of telephone conversations.

"Never mind who it is." Though Kenshin had ditched the customary smile, he heard the wide grin on the face of the man on the other end. Even if the words out of the speaker's mouth were perfectly polite, it made an unexplainable chill of fear run up his spine. "The boss is in need of your services very soon."

Kenshin frowned deeply, his soft face marred by the dip of his dark eyebrows. "The boss? Who's this? Sir, are you calling for Imperial Insurance?" He felt odd calling the disembodied voice "sir", considering it sounded as if it might belong to a teenaged boy. But, being the ever-polite man he was, Kenshin didn't feel like offending a prospective customer and have the wrath of customer service rules fall on his head.

The voice went on with his monologue, as if Kenshin's questions weren't something he was concerned with. "You will stay where you are for the next week. We will contact you in that space of time. You are to remain static."

"Static..? I- who is this?!" Kenshin questioned loudly, frustrated with the lack of response. His question was met with a dull click and a steady tone that signified the caller had hung up. He stared at the phone in utter confusion for a long moment, as if willing the receiver to give him answers. Why was his heart beating so fast? Why did the helplessness feel so familiar?

He set the phone back dazedly in the cradle, sitting back in his chair slowly. Who was this "boss" that the boy had mentioned? He placed a worried hand on his forehead, swiping back his bangs nervously. Maybe it had been a mistake. Perhaps they had gotten the wrong number. The boy hadn't even confirmed that what he wanted was an insurance company.

And then Kenshin paused in his thoughts, a lump of dread rising in this throat. _But he said my first name specifically…before I even told it to him. _Kenshin gulped deeply.

_Could it be…No, it couldn't be him. He's been dead for nine years now._ He quickly shook off the unwanted memory.

He looked down at his hands, realizing that he had been twirling a pen around nervously for the last few minutes as the thoughts had raced through his head. He was about to set the pen down on the unfinished paperwork in front of him, but then stopped in the middle of the action. It was then that he realized that the blue pen in his hand was the one that Hiko Seijuro, his strange client from two days before, had thrown at him.

He frowned again. This call made the count now two unexplainable strange events that had involved him, in the past three days. Could this call possibly be related to the shadowed words Hiko had spoke to him? Could that burly, graceful man somehow be linked with the smiling voice on the other end?

Kenshin rotated the pen slowly in deft fingers, until he saw words printed on the other side of the pen. It was a name of a hotel.

He squinted at the thin, white lettering.

_Aoiya Inn._

And there was a number printed right below the name.

Things were getting even stranger. The name of the inn was well known to businessmen…even the most virtuous. It was on the bad side of town- a seedy motel with shattered bulbs on a flickering neon sign- the kind of place with broken asphalt in its un-repaired parking lot, and no water in the unused rectangle-shaped hole in the cement that was falsely named "the pool." Kenshin had never been, but he knew it was the place you brought a woman that wasn't your wife. Moreover, it was the place one brought a woman that wasn't their wife, behind their wife's back.

He picked up the phone, and tentatively extended a finger to press in the number for the inn. Since when would he find himself calling the Aoiya Inn while sitting at a desk in the Imperial insurance building?

Nevertheless, with one deep breath, Kenshin pushed the seven digits into the phone, and waited as three shrill rings sounded in his ear. What did one say to the lobby of a "love hotel"? He tapped a finger on the desk in front of him, part of him wishing that nobody would answer. His tiny hope was dashed when, on the fifth ring, a woman picked up.

"This is the Aoiya, a place of comfort and safety. How may I help you?" The lady on the other end sounded bored, the speech recited, flat and meaningless.

Kenshin considered what to say for a moment, before he spoke the words shakily. "Would you happen to have a customer staying there by the name of…Hiko Seijuro? I would like to speak to him."

"Hiko?" She asked in mild confusion. Kenshin suddenly realized with dread that perhaps Hiko had never been to the hotel before. After this call, he could be back at square one.

"Oh!" the young-ish voice of the woman spoke again. "Sorry… no one has asked for 'Hiko' in quite a long while. I'll patch him through in just a second."

Kenshin muttered an affirmative response. Could the man's name be something other than Hiko? He waited as the girl sent his call to the room in which the customer was staying.

Seconds later, Hiko Seijuro picked up the phone, his gruff, deep voice booming in Kenshin's ear. "Yeah…who is it?" Kenshin opened his mouth to speak, when Hiko interrupted him. This time his speech was muffled as it was directed to someone else in the room with him. "Go put some clothes on. I might be a while."

Though Kenshin couldn't see the bare body of the woman in the background, he still felt a hot blush spread over him. There was no doubt in his mind that Hiko had been to the Aoiya before. Hiko moved his mouth back toward the receiver, his attention back on Kenshin. "Who is it?" he asked again.

Remembering again the reason that he had called, Kenshin cleared his throat to speak up. "This is Kenshin Himura. I spoke to you at Imperial Insurance the other day." He sounded more demanding than usual.

Hiko was silent for a moment, until the name struck him. "Ah, yes… the idiot insurance agent. How are you?"

Kenshin hummed in annoyance at the insult, but plowed on through to his problem. "Do you happen to know, by any chance, why I just received a…message from someone called 'the boss'? It was some teenager on the phone." He sucked in a quiet breath, half hoping that Hiko wouldn't have an answer for him. It might confirm that the whole ordeal was just the result of a wrong number or a trouble-making kid. He crossed his fingers absently.

Hiko snorted with amusement. "So soon you figured it out. Maybe you're not as dull a mind as I thought you were."

Kenshin frowned deeply, his eyes narrowing at the tone. He didn't see what was so funny that the man had to laugh at his expense. "What do you mean? What do you have to do with that call…I mean, what do _I _have to do with whatever they were talking about?"

The man sounded distracted again, as if he were admiring the woman standing in front of him instead of minding the safety of the man on the other end. "Didn't you say you wanted excitement?" he asked it simply, as if it were Kenshin's fault that he were in this mess.

Kenshin sniffed indignantly. "I never said anything of the sort! I said I _didn't _need excitement, if you had listened to me correctly!" Kenshin was now absolutely _positive_ that he didn't like this man.

"Well, it's a little late now. They have your name, they know where you are, and I can guarantee they're not letting go very soon."

"Who are 'they'-"

Hiko interrupted him swiftly. "Look, I was looking for a vacation, and I really would like to continue with it. You've got something to gain here from this- think of it as a good experience. It's not so bad once you get used to the blood…" he chuckled humorlessly.

"BLOOD?!"

"Don't you get it, boy? You're _me_ now. You've got what they want."

"What they want…?"

"You're a hit man now."

Kenshin's stomach hit the ground in a second flat, and he felt like shaking the phone to make sure it was working properly. His mind began to rotate around the facts like a creaky clock, and the fear and adrenaline he had felt before were rising very quickly. Two seconds later the words hit him in full force.

"I'M NOT A HIT MAN!" He screeched it loudly, completely forgetting that he was in his cubicle, in his office, in a purely respectable part of the downtown business sector.

Hiko warned him disdainfully. "I'd keep your voice down if I were you. I don't think that silly manager of you would approve of mafia talk in that immaculate office of his."

Kenshin lowered his voice into an angry hiss, dragging the phone and cradle to the far corner of the desk where hopefully, anybody walking by would be least likely to hear him. "Mafia?! I'm not associated with the mafia."

Hiko barked out a laugh. "Well, you're no fun. I was with the mafia… funny how things change, isn't it? I gave my boss your name so I could get a little shuteye here."

"Since when do hit men work on recommendation?" He spat it out. This was just absurd.

"I thought you might be perfect for the job- competent and smart with the reflexes and all… but perhaps I overestimated your ability. They obviously haven't realized we're not the same person, though…they've never actually seen my face. I was the 'silent killer,' see?" He paused, waiting for Kenshin to be impressed.

After the tense silence dragged on for a little longer, he began talking again. "Look, Kenshin. You've got two choices here."

"What are they?" his voice was a subdued growl… half of his mind had yet to grasp what was going on, but the half that had, was certainly not pleased.

"Either you do what they tell you to do…or they kill you."

"What?!"

"It's a simple as that. Anyway, there's a reason I chose you of all people. I saw it when I visited you. You've got power in there you've never thought to harness- there's a personality inside you that you don't try to think about. Why not use it?"

"Now look here- none of that is any of your concern. I'm going get a hold of the police, and-"

"I wouldn't call anybody- trust me. It will only make things worse. Now, as nice as it has been chatting to you again, I really have to go."

"Aren't you going to explain? You're just going to have to call them and tell them I'm not-" Kenshin scrambled frantically.

"Bye, now!" The voice was overly cheerful, and before Kenshin could interject again, he was met with the sound of yet another person hanging up on him in mid-sentence.

_What the hell is going on?_ Kenshin stared at the phone, horrified.

* * *

On the other side of the cubicle divider, Kaoru was leaning over her desk, her heart trapped in her throat, and her breath coming in short, shallow gasps. It was as if she were afraid to breathe too loud, or she might be discovered eavesdropping.

Was what she had heard… correct? She had been minding her own business, but as the office had cleared out, Kenshin's frantic conversation with an unidentified person was drifting over to her ears. As the red-haired insurance agent on the other side returned the phone to its holder, Kaoru let out a long breath of relief and confusion. She didn't want to move at all out of fear.

Why was Kenshin, the seemingly sweet-minded and innocent coworker of hers discussing murder over the phone- and in relation to the mafia, no less?

Kaoru turned shakily to the document she had just been about to finish, now crumpled beyond recognition in her palms.

_Just who is Kenshin Himura?_

* * *

**A/N: **Poor, poor Kenshin. He's really not up for this adventure stuff, is he? At least he's smart, and picked up the pen thing.

Well, please let me know what you think so far1


	3. Foxy Lady

**A/N:** Thanks to everyone that reviewed! I'm glad you like it so far, and this chapter is the best so far, in my opinion. It's definitely lot's of fun, since Megumi gets added into relationship dynamics. A couple people have asked me about the appearance of Battousai in this fic… and that's a very very interesting question.

Without giving anything away, I'll just say that, while Kenshin _does _have a harder edge underneath all of that goofiness, he was never named Battousai. But that doesn't mean he can't get gold eyes once in a while. Hehe I know that's really vague, but if you stick around, I think you'll be satisfied to see how Kenshin's going to grow and change as a character. Please review, and give me comments and suggestions!!

**"Life Insured" **

**Chapter 3: Foxy Lady**

Sanosuke leaned against the wall casually, ignoring the way the jutting and crumbling bricks of the building were unevenly placed behind his back. One of his feet rested flat on the wall beneath him, as he took a long drag on his cigarette. His hat was pulled down low over his eyes. To any passerby, he would be inconspicuous. The only thing striking about him was his abnormal height, and the flicker of the hot coal in the shadows of the alleyway. No one would pay him a second glance.

Well, if he was lucky, one person would pay him that second glance… the one he had been waiting for, for the past twenty minutes.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a figure in a gray trench coat and sunglasses, with long flowing hair, moving toward him. Lazily flicking the end of the butt with his middle finger, he pretended not to notice, and instead pushed himself off the wall to move deeper into the darkness of the space between the old buildings.

Before he had taken five steps, a hard and sweet voice stopped him in his tracks. "Don't move any further, or I'll shoot."

Sano chuckled to himself, raising his hands above his head in surrender. Turning around slowly, he saw his partner standing five feet away, her finger sticking suspiciously like the shape of a gun, in her pocket. His lips quirked up in a devilish smile, and he winked at her cheekily.

"Nice to see you too, fox." With one toss of his wrist, he had dropped the burning cigarette onto the cement, and scuffed it out gracefully with the sole of his shiny, black shoe. He dug his hands into the pockets of his slacks.

Megumi tossed her hair haughtily, though even she couldn't hide her relief at being able to see Sano- if only just for a brief moment. "You know, you really should stop smoking those things. They'll be the death of you…not that I wouldn't be happy to see it…"

Sano chuckled again. "…Says the woman who involves herself with the mafia…"

She rolled her eyes, moving on to scold him. "We don't have time to joke around anymore… I could have been followed." She now remembered to lower her voice.

The brunette agent's smile vanished, and he stepped close to her, casually scanning the street for any suspicious passerby. He could smell the sweetness of her perfume, so close. He then tilted his head so it was right next to her ear. "What have you got, then?"

"Shishio's best hit man on the outside of the ring is causing some suspicion. He's changed his codename, his phone number, and is now posing as an insurance agent."

Sano was silent for a moment, and Megumi could imagine him quirking a brow, even if she couldn't see his face. "What does that mean?"

"Shishio hasn't heard anything about it yet. Soujiro has spoken with the man on the phone, and believes that everything is normal. But, Shishio's mistress, Yumi, is the one that is the most suspicious of him."

"What do you think?"

Megumi pursed her red-painted lips. "I don't think he's who he says he is."

"What do you plan to do about it?"

"I'm going to go to him tomorrow, and see what I can see."

"Getting into more danger?" He felt less-than-thrilled about handing over the best woman on the force into yet another possible trap…even less thrilled at the fact that it was Megumi in the position.

"I can handle myself, rooster-head!"

Sano shrugged. He stepped back after a second, sweeping an eye over her. "Not getting attached to any mob bosses, are you?" he teased.

"Jealous, Sano?" He couldn't see her eyes behind her dark shades, but knew they were twinkling flirtatiously at him.

"I'm not jealous of what the agents are going to do to Shishio when we track him down." He winced appreciatively at the thought of it.

She nodded, solemnly. Neither one mentioned that just finding Shishio would be the hardest task. Megumi herself, being planted under the cover as an F.B.I. agent who had betrayed the federal organization, had never seen him. Though the entire show was being directed by Shishio's puppet strings, his right hand workers did all the dirty work. He was just a legend to his followers…someone defined by shadow.

Out in the street behind them, the sound of a police siren split the twilight with its shrill yell. It was almost as if it were the signal that Megumi had to leave. Briefly reaching up to pat her partner tenderly on the cheek, the tall woman turned on a heel, and was exiting the alley.

He didn't need to tell again to be careful. The words already were apparent in the way he had looked at her.

* * *

Kaoru fidgeted nervously, alternately scared and then wondering why exactly she was hiding behind a wall. Could it have been because Kenshin was walking her way so that he could get to the break room? Or maybe it was that she was itching to talk to him.

She hadn't seen Kenshin since the Friday before, when she had listened in on his phone call by accident. He had called in sick on Monday, a rarity for the prompt insurance agent. Over the past few days, Kaoru had been running the conversation over in her mind, trying to make sense of what she had heard. Who could have been on the other end that would have caused Kenshin so much distress- was he in danger? Or was he really planning on doing something dangerous?

Now that he was finally back in the office, she knew she had to find out one way or another. If he really were involved with some underground organization…well, then she would just have to be the one to stop him from doing something illegal. That's what she kept telling herself, at least.

Kaoru could no longer pretend she was a part of the break room wall when Kenshin entered, and instead sat herself down at the circular table with its unstable leg and scratched surface. He looked up at her, and suddenly she wasn't sure why she had ever thought this man could be a killer. His eyes were watery with stress, dark circles were apparent under his eyes, and yet he still smiled at her with a kind, simple grace. Kenshin Himura was no murderer.

But, that didn't mean he wasn't capable of deceiving her. Was this job just a cover-up after all?

Kenshin was pouring himself a cup of warmed-over coffee, his shoulders slumped slightly. Her eyes traced the hard lines of his torso absently, wondering what she would say to him when he turned around.

At last, he set the coffee pitcher back in its holder, turning to join Kaoru at the table. Mostly focused on the drink in his hands, he flickered a glance to the woman beside him. Before she could bring up the subject of the telephone call, he started the conversation with a wry chuckle. "Don't you get tired of spending your mornings with such an old man?" He took a sip of the coffee.

Kaoru left her nervousness for a second, giving him a quizzical look. "Old man? You can't be a day over thirty, can you? … Just how old _are _you?" She eyed him suspiciously. She supposed she had never once thought to ask.

Kenshin smiled sheepishly. "Actually, Miss Kaoru, I just turned thirty eight."

"Thirty eight…what?!" Her voice rose incredulously. Kenshin shrugged. He had often been mistaken for a teenager… perhaps it was only his scar that made him look of legal age.

_Why, he's over a decade older than I am… _She processed the age difference after a long moment. When the silence fell over them again, she finally remembered what she had waited to ask him about. Shifting nervously in her chair, her fingers began tapping on the tabletop. She had become in the habit of using her fingers as an outlet for her nerves.

He noticed quickly with concern that she was looking out of sorts. "Is anything the matter, Miss Kaoru?" he asked, worriedly.

She chewed on her lip nervously, took a deep breath and then, without looking his way, spit out what she had wanted to tell him for days now. "I heard your telephone conversation on Friday." She winced slightly, the irrational and fantastical half of her imagining dark men in ski masks leaping from behind the potted plants to silence her. Of course that didn't happen.

Kenshin was quiet for a long moment. She watched as he painstakingly set his coffee cup on the table in front of him, placing his hands flat on the surface. He looked up slowly through his bangs, and gave her a tired smile. It was at that moment that she realized what she hadn't noticed before- Kenshin looked an absolute wreck. His hair was a bit disheveled, his eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep, and his bright smile was wavering in a kind of nervous twitch.

"You heard it, that you did….? Which…which one…?" His voice was almost a whisper.

Kaoru looked apologetic, and began pushing the ends of her index fingers together. "I, well… there was something about… blood…and, er… killing people…" She glanced sidelong at him, and then looked away quickly. "Who are you?!" It came out so bluntly, that she felt like slapping her hands over her mouth. Kaoru had never been renown for her subtlety. "If… if it's anything bad, I won't tell anybody…"

Kenshin's eyes were pleading and yet resigned as they pierced hers. He shakily reached up one hand to run it through his long bangs. "I'm exactly who you think I am. But, this is all a huge misunderstanding…" he took a deep breath. "I have nothing to do with the mafia… someone just seems to think that I do." He didn't quite know how to explain.

Kaoru's eyes lit up in worry, and she leaned towards Kenshin so she could speak more confidentially. "Someone… believes you're part of the mafia?" The question was a gasp.

He nodded, dazed. "It seems as if I'm the mafia's… hit man." He said it as if he still had yet to believe it.

"WHAT?! What are you going to do, then? You've never killed anybody before! Er… you haven't, right?" she was currently feeling unsure.

"NO!" he looked horrified. He then steeled himself unsuccessfully in the reflection of his coffee. "I'll just…I'll fix it somehow. I'll call the police." Inside, he knew that wasn't an option. Hiko had told him that the organization would kill him if he made any false moves. And he knew too well what people like that were capable of. "Or…well, I'll straighten it out somehow." He smiled reassuringly at the pretty woman, though it was obvious he himself was not sure in his conviction.

"But…"

Kenshin raised a hand to stop her, and he backed out of his chair almost too quickly to be natural. "Don't worry, Miss Kaoru, I'll fix it on my own. Just… please, I don't want you in any kind of trouble… so, don't ever mention it again. This is not the kind of problem you should involve yourself in." Before she could protest, Kenshin had grabbed his coffee cup from the table, and had vanished from the room.

She sighed in worry and confusion. How was Kenshin planning on handling the mafia on his own? Even if he was trying to act brave, she knew that even he had to be afraid of what might happen.

* * *

The men at the front desk of Imperial Insurance were surprised, to say the least. It was very rare that any customer request for a specific insurance agent on their first time dealing with the company. It was even less rare that a customer request especially for Kenshin Himura. And it was almost unbelievable that that customer would be a woman like this one.

Megumi Takani sweetly thanked the boys for their help, after which she sauntered daintily towards the lobby's elevator. She knew that they were leaning out of their desks to catch a glimpse of her, and she was glad that, even if mafia men were dangerous and often crude, most at least had enough self-respect to keep their tongues from rolling onto the floor.

When she reached the thirtieth floor, Megumi stepped out with a swing in her body that defined an experienced woman. Her heels moved one in front of the other with practiced delicacy, as she went straight for row 8, cubicle 6, where she knew her man would be.

Kenshin looked up, startled, seeing the woman standing at his door. She was a beautiful woman, with a carriage that wasn't normally seen in his daily customers. She was long-legged, with dark hair and makeup that was fresh, yet daring. While most slightly-attractive women relied on skimpy skirts and revealing tops as their fashion crutch, this tall woman had a simple blouse over her ample bosom and a skirt that fell past her knees. But the way she moved made the cloth covering her body even more alluring than would be bare skin.

Taking this all in with one glance, Kenshin leapt courteously from his seat to greet her. "Miss…?" he asked for her name. She smiled at him, her red lips still pursed together even in the smile. She took an immediate liking to this diminutive man who, unlike every other male in the building, was not gawking at her. His eyes were shining in natural respect for a beautiful woman.

She considered to herself that anyone else might have laughed that a man like this could have been mistaken for a hit man. But, Megumi knew better. She had seen Soujiro Seta, a man smaller and ten years younger than Kenshin, kill ten men in the blink of an eye. "My name isn't important," She said softly. "The only important thing is that you listen carefully to what I have to say."

Kenshin realized, with sudden dread, that he had just received yet another customer that wasn't looking for insurance advice. He drew in a sharp breath, wishing futilely that he could be anywhere but in that cubicle. His voice lowered accusingly. "Are you…one of them? The people that called me?"

Megumi crossed her legs delicately after seating herself, lacing her long fingers together in her lap. "Yes and no. First, I need to know if what I expect is true. You aren't the 'silent killer' that Shishio has contracted all these years."

Kenshin's eyes lit up with a hopeful glint. "No…no, I'm not a hit man…I was set up!"

Megumi looked pleased. "Very good. It's very unfortunate that an innocent civilian had to get involved in something as dangerous as mafia work, but it can't be helped anymore."

Kenshin's hopes crashed again. "What do you mean, 'it can't be helped'?"

"I'm sure you know. If they knew that you weren't who you they think you are…you would already be in some dumpster."

"Dumpster…?"

Megumi rolled forward a little bit in her chair, leaning so close to Kenshin that he could smell the sweetness of her perfume. He colored slightly, watching her dark lips move as she whispered to him. "But, I can help you out of this if you'll agree to do what I say…"

Suddenly, behind Megumi sounded a small cough of apparent disapproval, and the woman whipped around to see who was standing in the narrow hallway. Kenshin looked up, too, to see Kaoru watching them. He considered what it might look like to Kaoru, seeing this alluring woman leaning so close to Kenshin. He had enough decency to squirm in embarrassment.

Kaoru eyed Megumi with suspicion. "Kenshin, who is this woman?" Some remembrance of her training in dealing with customers told her that maybe she shouldn't be so rude, but the woman was practically on top of Kenshin!

Kenshin smiled innocently, which made Kaoru's eyes narrow even further. "This is…" he remembered very fast that he hadn't learned her name. He looked helplessly at Megumi.

"I'm Megumi," she purred. "I'm a client of Kenshin's." She saw the annoyance in the younger woman's face, and purposefully moved a long-nailed hand to squeeze Kenshin's knee. Kenshin jumped at the pressing touch, his cheeks reddening. He hoped silently that Megumi would not anger Kaoru any further.

"You must be Kenshin's secretary, hm?" she smiled sweetly, yet condescendingly at Kaoru.

Kaoru's eyes bugged out. "Secretary?!" she squawked loudly.

"Oh," Megumi tittered innocently. "Forgive me. I guess I just assumed that someone so young and _inexperienced_ wouldn't be anywhere near the same level as dear Kenshin…"

The younger woman's eyes were spitting fire, and her fists clenched dangerously at her sides. As much as she adored Kenshin, some days she wished she could just smack the red-haired man upside the head, in order to knock some sense into him. "Well, I guess I'll leave you two be, then…" Kaoru bit the reply out through clenched teeth, and then moved towards her own cubicle, her eyes still glaring at Megumi as she left.

"You know, you really shouldn't tease Miss Kaoru like that," Kenshin warned. "She doesn't respond well to it, that she does not…" He watched Kaoru move away with a dry look on his face. When he turned back to Megumi, he saw that her eyes had already lost some of the teasing twinkle that had been there before. They both knew that playtime was over.

He sighed. "Just who are you, Miss Megumi?"

Her voice was lowered to a murmur once again, so that even Kaoru, who was most likely eavesdropping from the next cubicle, would not be able to hear her speak. "I'm with the Federal Bureau of Investigation." She had quickly pulled out a small badge from her purse, with the insignia of an agent emblazoned on it.

Kenshin looked relieved. "This means you can protect Miss Kaoru and I from any further involvement with these people, right?"

Megumi's smooth mask broke for a moment in alarm. "That girl knows?!"

Kenshin looked regretful. "I'm sorry. It wasn't her fault. She accidentally heard my telephone conversation with Hiko Seijuro."

Megumi sighed, obviously frustrated. "OK, then…_two_ innocent civilians involved unnecessarily. Whoever this Hiko Seijuro is, he should have learned some decency...but I guess hired killers aren't always perfectly sane." She thought offhand of Soujiro again… he was a brilliant and sweet boy, but everyone knew he was repressing too many dirty memories behind that smile of his. Such was the mind of a murderer.

"What do you want me to do now?" Megumi noticed that Kenshin's previous vague tone had been discarded, and now his voice was more even. He understood that Megumi's words could mean the difference between life and death, even if it hadn't been spoken aloud.

"You're going to pretend to be who they think you are. You're going to go on with your daily life… try to relax, as hard as that may seem. If they call you again, remain as cool as possible."

"But, what if they request me to perform a 'hit' for them?"

Megumi nodded. This certainly was not the man Shishio would desire as hit man. Even though Kenshin was sharp and had hidden strength that none of these other slouchy middle-aged insurance lackeys could dream of matching, he was not a cold-blooded killer. She slipped two fingers into the small handbag she was carrying, producing a small business card, which she held out for Kenshin.

He held the card with care, as if it were a symbol of his last lifeline, noticing with brief interest that it wasn't made out of ordinary paper, but was some alternative, heavier material. There was a single name printed across the card, followed by a seven-digit number. There were no other words.

"Sanosuke Sagara," Megumi stated. "He's my partner, who is the other half of this operation. If and when you get the call to help Shishio out, I want you to take a taxicab to a phone booth that's not in the business district. Tell him exactly what they told you, and he'll tell you what to do."

"When will I be able to speak to you again?"

She smirked sadly. "I don't think that we'll be able to arrange another meeting. I've been working on gaining the trust of Shishio's men for months now. I'm taking a huge risk by even coming here."

He nodded solemnly, realizing how much Megumi had potentially sacrificed by coming to speak to him. "I appreciate your help, that I do, Miss Megumi… I just…" he smiled sheepishly. "I know little about acting like a hit man… I'm afraid I'll be of little help to anyone."

Megumi's hand crept out to grab a hold of Kenshin's pink tie. She pulled him a little closer with the end of the tie, flirting shamelessly once again. "Ah, dear Kenshin; you look like you've never had a day of fun in your whole life," she winked at him. "Here's your chance."

He detached Megumi's fingers from his tie with a calm air, that vague and neutral smile of his lifting his lips again. He was sure Kaoru was probably peeking at them through the cracks, trying to listen in on the conversation.

As Kenshin quickly slipped the business card Megumi had handed them into the back of one of his desk drawers, Megumi's eyes flickered over the surface of Kenshin's desk. It had long ago become a normal reaction as an agent and spy to take in all of her surroundings to the very last detail. Raising a smooth, white hand, Megumi leaned to touch a small picture frame that sat near his computer. It was of a serenely beautiful young woman with dark hair and the whitest skin she had ever seen.

"Is this your wife?"

Kenshin flinched almost unnoticeably, not looking up. "No, no… just a picture of an old friend, that's all. It's just old memories. I should take it down soon, that I should…" His light and dismissive smile didn't look very convincing, as his eyes weren't meeting the agent's. Megumi nodded, silently, understanding that it was something she shouldn't prod any further.

Seeing the stress apparent on the man's face, she realized it was time they part. She stood carefully from her chair, letting Kenshin shake her hand. He looked grateful, though she knew that inside he was probably frightened of what was to come. She didn't blame him at all. It was the most unfortunate thing in the world that this nice, bright man was involved in something so terrifying.

"I think you'll do better than you think you will, Kenshin. Just remember the general rule for all shady dealings: if you act like you know what you're talking about, they have to believe you."

He nodded, smartly. "Thank you, Miss Megumi."

"Remember to call Sano."

"That I will."

And, without any more words, the fox lady exited in the same way she had arrived: with style.

* * *

**A/N: **Ahh… Megumi… to quote Mike Myers in Wayne's World "She's a fox. In French, she would be called "la renarde" and would be hunted with only her cunning to protect her…" XD

Please let me know if there's any problems/comments/nitpicks you have.

Stay tuned for Chapter 4!

**Review Replies: **Love you guys!

**Imana: **I'm glad you're excited! So am I, because it's nice to see that people love this idea as much as I do.

**TheEtherway: **Thanks for the praise! I'm trying my best to keep everyone in character, and most are pretty easy, like Saitou. All I have to do is make him a self-centered prick! (jk jk I really do love Saitou… he's just not really nice to Kenshin)

**Kireiko: **Glad the first few sentences captured you. See, not all AU fics are bad? In fact, some are awesome! Hehe not that mine has to be classified in that category ; )

**AngelsExist: **Thanks for pointing that out! I _do _have to watch out for those…

**BradyBunch4529: **Can't you just see Kenshin in those short sleeves and pink tie? To me, it strangely seems to fit his pretended awkwardness very well. Of course, I also am a lunatic, so I can't always be trusted with what fits right…jk

**Animemistress419: **I'm glad you branched out! It's always good to get some readers that cross over! Thank you for sticking with me for this one…

**Gaby)hyatt: **Thanks! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

**Killer Cool Sobe: **You guessed right! ::throws cookies::

**Pego5678: **Yup, I'm in SoCali too! Thankfully the rain has subsided… unfortunately, Fillmore got out of school, but we in North Ventura County had no such luck ::sigh:: Wow! And, my writing is flawless? Haha I hope I can keep that up, then… ::jinxed::

**MP1: **You're getting close… you'll find out all about that stuff around chapters 6 and 7

**Drake220: **Thanks!! I'm so glad you enjoyed this! Thanks for being so loyal and sweet.

If I forgot anyone, I apologize!


	4. You Know What They Say About Men with Bi...

**A/N:** I'm glad everyone enjoyed Megumi in the last chapter. She and Sanosuke were lots of fun to write! Hope you like this chapter too- R&R

**"Life Insured" **

**Chapter 4: You Know What They Say About Men with Big Swords…**

Needless to say, Saitou had been very miffed on Tuesday afternoon, when, on a surprise visit, Kenshin had requested he be able to change desks. Not only change desks… the redhead had also asked rather forcefully if he could have his phone number changed.

The long-faced manager had leaned back in his chair slowly, fixing Kenshin with a look that denoted he thought the man had gone off the deep end. Here was a man that had never demanded anything in that quiet, even voice of his. Now that such a strange request had popped up, the tall, greasy-haired man didn't quite know how to react.

"Explain to me again, Himura, why it is you _suddenly_ feel the need to move closer to the window, and why also your line needs to be changed? Is there something the company should be informed of?" His voice was dry and sardonic.

Kenshin took a deep breath. "I already _explained _once, Mr. Saitou. I've been at Imperial Insurance for eight years now. I think it's about time I deserved a better desk area… specifically, a desk with a better view." He winced inwardly. The lie was horrible, but he couldn't very well tell Saitou that the reason he wanted to move was to deter ruthless mafia assassins from tracking him down, could he?

Saitou eyed him critically. "And the phone extension change…?"

The redhead flinched. He didn't really have an excuse for that one, unfortunately. "It's…it's a personal problem, sir, that it is..."

"Personal problems should not get in the way of your work duties, Himura."

Kenshin's jaw clenched unnoticeably. "I _understand_, Mr. Saitou." He wished that the manager would just get on with it already, but Saitou had the extremely annoying habit of dragging out everything to milk every last bit of sick, twisted pleasure he could out of each situation.

In the end, after lecturing a fuming Kenshin on the values of Imperial Insurance Company employees, Saitou had reluctantly agreed to grant his requests.

Kenshin had been working furiously the past week. First and foremost, he had to plow through all the work he had neglected the week before. Secondly, drowning himself in tiresome insurance claims and complicated forms had been his only option for forgetting temporarily the situation he was in. He knew he was fooling himself in thinking that the mafia would be sidetracked by something as silly as changing his phone extension, but it was the least he felt he could do. He couldn't just skip town.

He had also noticed that Kaoru had been giving him very strange, sidelong looks for the past few days. He was sure that he didn't blame her, considering the situation. He had told her expressly not to worry about him, and not to mention anything about the mafia ever again, but she still worried after him. He saw it from across the room. He told himself that as long as he could protect her, he could still let her worry. Even if the memory was far away, he had sworn long ago that he would be a protector.

So, slaving away throughout the workday, Kenshin found himself more on edge than ever before. He was an attentive worker anyway, but since the first telephone call from Shishio's man, he had jumped every time his phone rang. He was sure that when he least expected it, answering the phone could end all of this apprehension… and put him in an even more difficult situation.

Kenshin sighed deeply to himself, thinking all these thoughts. He raised his head out of the papers for a second, giving himself just a second to admire his new view of the city. It wasn't particularly fascinating, only containing a view of the metal sheet windows of an adjacent office building, and the sky above it. He noticed the sky was darkening, as if a storm were approaching.

Suddenly, his thoughts were split by the ring of yet another call on his telephone. His hands twitched a little, as he battled with himself on whether to pick it up or not. After a moment of tough deliberation, and the focus of two bright violet eyes, Kenshin's hand snaked out to grab the phone.

"This is Kenshin Himura. How may I help you…?"

"It's me." When Kenshin heard the smooth, smiling voice his stomach dropped all the way down to ground floor. He didn't answer for a long moment, millions of questions, answers and fears popping into his brain.

He remembered very quickly what Megumi had told him. She had said to play it cool, to act like a hit man… otherwise he might not wake up the next morning. His heart began to beat faster. What did mafia men say? What words did they choose? Most of all, how in the world was he supposed to convince them he was who they thought he was… whatever that was…

He cleared his throat loudly, supposing that the fewer words, the better. "Yeah." Though his hand shook on the phone, he tried to make his voice as rough and deep as possible.

The polite voice seemed to have taken no notice of the long pause, and continued speaking curtly to Kenshin. "Have you been under any pressure lately?"

Kenshin's eyebrows raised, and licked his lips nervously. "Pressure? What is that supposed to mean?" He flinched at the sound of his own voice, which came out husky and deep.

"Have you noticed any signs of anyone… watching you? Is your company aware of your actions?"

Kenshin realized that, since they believed their man had changed name and location, they would watch out for any suspicious activity. He steeled his voice once more. "Nothing at all." He wasn't used to speaking so rudely to people on the phone. He hoped he didn't sound like he felt- as if he were play-acting… and very badly at that.

"Good." The young voice sounded pleased, and Kenshin tried not to sigh with relief straight into the receiver.

He could feel cold sweat prickling on the back of his neck. How long would this phone call go on? How long could he actually keep up this charade before making a slip?

"Shishio has a new 'project' for you."

Adrenaline shot fiercely into Kenshin's veins. _Project? _If by "project" the man meant "murder," which he was ninety-nine percent positive it did, Kenshin knew that the trouble was coming quicker than he had imagined. Would he be calling the number on that blank business card sooner than he had hoped for? He had to calm down, though. He had dealt with stressful conversations in his life. He could deal with this one.

"Yeah- what?" How else could he have answered?

"Stay where you are. Communication is becoming tougher, so I will contact you again to provide the location within three days. Mr. Shishio would like to remind you that if you are caught, we cannot come to your rescue, so stay on your toes!" The warning was cheerful, and Kenshin found it almost sickening. The boy quipped about death as if it were a good-natured sporting event.

"Right."

"I'm glad you understand." After a lightly affirmative noise from the speaker, the phone call was over.

Kenshin set the phone back on the hook with shaking fingers. When he was sure that the man on the end would never hear him, he slumped down violently in his chair, covering his face with one hand. How could he keep this game up any longer, not knowing where it could lead?

* * *

"Uhh….Mr. Himura?"

The delivery boy looked on in confusion at the mass of red hair splayed on the desk, and the figure of the insurance agent sleeping deeply on his pile of papers. He nervously checked the nameplate on the desk to make sure he had gotten the right desk. How was he going to explain to his boss why he was late, if he couldn't wake the man?

"Mr. Himura? There's a package for you."

Kenshin's eyes were wide and unfocused as he snapped out of his slumber, giving a wild look to the delivery boy, who backed away in uncertainty. The boy tried hard to remember again why he had decided to keep this godforsaken job… oh yes, he had to pay for college. He resignedly held out the clipboard to the sleepy insurance agent, who took a long moment to process the meaning of the form, and then finally scribbled a loose signature on the bottom line.

"Er…thanks…" Kenshin muttered, embarrassed. He had never slept on the job before. But, he hadn't really had anything that could be labeled as sleep, in the past few days. It was rather difficult to sleep when you were afraid the mafia was after you.

Kenshin felt confusion wash over him as the young man in his khaki shorts and matching work shirt passed him a long, thin cardboard box. The boy didn't bother to explain, and left, uninterested, to finish the rest of his duty. Kenshin frowned to himself, feeling that the package in his hands was heavier than it at first had looked. Now, he couldn't remember ever ordering something that might come in a box this shape…in fact, he couldn't remember having ordered anything at all!

Rubbing sleep and dryness from his bloodshot eyes, Kenshin moved his fingers fast to rip open the top of the box. When he had succeeded, he tipped it to pull out some object wrapped in thick layers of soft cloth. His eyebrows furrowed darkly over his eyes. What kind of object would be wrapped in this silky cloth, and sent to an insurance agent without his knowledge? A feeling of unexplained excitement and dread ran up his spine, as he carefully began to pull back the layers of cloth.

With a sudden pang of fear and surprise, Kenshin realized what the object was. If his stomach had been at ground floor when Shishio's man had called him, it was now making his way towards uncharted depths.

Someone had sent him a sword.

And, it wasn't just any kind of sword. It was the style of some ancient samurai warrior- long and thin with a sleek wooden sheath and, Kenshin realized with fright as he slipped open the sheath for a second, a polished and sharpened blade. He quickly sheathed the sword again, suddenly remembering to check for people around him. If suspicions hadn't been aroused by his recent actions, then drawing a sharpened killing sword during office hours would probably do the trick quite nicely.

So, setting the sword across his desk as if it were some priceless relic, Kenshin leaned back in his chair, and just stared for a moment. What was he supposed to do with a sword? It was, in fact, a murder weapon.

A moment later, his quick eyes noticed the small, square piece of paper that had fallen out of the box. He leaned down to pick it up, reading the handwritten lines to himself.

_A present from your loyal client. Use it when the time comes- you're going to need it._

_-H.S._

Kenshin's jaw dropped open, though part of him knew that, with all the weird things that had been happening to him lately, surprise was starting to become a token reaction. Hiko Seijuro had just sent him a sword.

Now…just what had he meant by "you're going to need it"?

* * *

Kaoru approached hesitantly, seeing that Kenshin was buried in work. She had really tried to respect his wishes, and not get any more involved in his problems, but she just hadn't been able to take her mind off of it. When she should have been paying attention to one of her clients, her eyes flickered constantly to check on the redhead, who was looking even more distressed than before. She hadn't asked, but… perhaps the mafia men had called him a second time?

When her customer, an old doctor with soft, white hair, and a soft stomach to match, had reveled in telling her about the antics of his two darling grandchildren, she was far more concerned about the sanity of the man that sat near the far window. She was beginning to see that Kenshin was one of those strong-willed and self-sacrificial people who believed they could put the weight of the world on their shoulders.

She would just have to beat it into his head. _Nobody, _not even Kenshin, was strong enough to stand this kind of torture. He would have to understand that, sooner or later.

Kaoru lifted a light fist to knock on the wall of his cubicle. It was a meaningless gesture of formality, considering the enclosed space didn't actually have a door. Kenshin looked up with a welcoming smile. "Ah, Miss Kaoru… did you need anything?"

Kaoru sighed a little. Had he always been like this? It seemed as if, the more worried Kenshin was becoming, the more distant he became towards those around him.

"Not exactly… I just wanted to check up on you, and make sure…you know, that everything was all right." She shrugged a little, making her long dark braid swing slightly. Her deep blue eyes shone in worry for the man.

Kenshin's smile increased in width and brightness, though she swore once again that his eyes were looking at something sad and far away. "I've told you before, Miss Kaoru. I'll be just fine, that I will."

The woman put on a firmly disapproving frown, her hands moving automatically to her hips. If only she could just get it through to him how much she had been concerned for his safety… how much she wished that he would tell her everything, instead of trying to act so tough. "Kenshin, I know you want to handle this on your own, but I don't think you should…"

Kenshin waved it off, even if the thought of spending more time with Kaoru was alluring to him. "I don't want to put you in the way of any more harm…Trust me, I've handled things… similar to this before. Besides, Miss Megumi can help me with that."

The moment he said it, he knew he had made some stupid misstep that had to blamed on male clueless-ness. The change in Kaoru was miniscule, but he swore he could see a vein pop in her forehead. "Oh, is _that_ it?" Her eyes narrowed into something sharp and frightening. "You and your lovely Megumi seem to be hitting it off famously, don't you?"

Kenshin wished he could have backed away… unfortunately for him he was trapped by cubicle walls. Instead, he tried to placate the woman with a nervous smile. "No… that's not quite it… she's just… she said she can help me." He hoped that Kaoru would leave the conversation where it was. By telling her about Megumi and this Sanosuke fellow, it would just drag her in further.

She didn't look convinced by his answer in the slightest. "Anyway, I don't see why any man could fall for such a slippery…." She trailed off, something by his feet catching her eye. "What's that…?" He followed her eyes slowly, noticing fast that he had forgotten to conceal the package with the sword in it.

He tried to play it off as nothing, kicking it farther back. "Ah, it's nothing Miss Kaoru. Just a package from a client, that's all…"

Her eyes narrowed more than before, but she couldn't press any further. Seeing how his eyes were closing off to her again, and taking on that dreaded impersonal glint, Kaoru turned reluctantly towards her desk. She knew, though, that no matter what, she would not let Kenshin go through this alone. No matter how many silly ideas he got in that handsome head.

"Miss Kaoru…?" His voice had dropped some of the absent politeness of before, and had a soft, heavy quality that she wished he would use more often. It was impossible not to listen to what he said when he spoke to you this way.

She turned back with hopeful eyes, his clear, violet ones meeting hers in sincerity.

"Thank you for caring."

She nodded, before turning back towards her desk. She couldn't figure out for the life of her what it was in his stare that had made her cheeks grow so hot.

* * *

**A/N: **Aww…. Kaoru's blushing! ::teases her::

And, what's with that sword… crazy ol' Hiko…. Always good for a laugh! (Hot dang! I've been using a lot of movie quotes in my A/N's! If you get what movie that quote is from, well then, you get a very tasty cookie)

Please leave a review. I can't fix any glaring mistakes or know what improvements this needs unless I get comments from helpful people such as yourself! Look forward to next chapter coming out very, very soon!

**Review Replies:**

**Blue Lamp: **Old Spice… hahahaha…. Thank you for that! That made me giggle. I never thought about it but, strangely, it fits!

**Peaches: **Thank you, I definitely will!

**Animemistress419: **Is this soon enough? ; )

**BradyBunch4529: **Hehe you liked the desk organization too? Thank you for the wonderful comments!

**Kyia Star: **Yes! I had the next chapter ready at the time you reviewed- and here it is!!

**Killer Cool Sobe: **Oh you'll see him fight eventually… he's not really into Battoujutsu, but he has some kind of coordination in him. He just needs the chance to get REALLY pissed off. Ten bucks it's something to do with Kaoru… that's just speculation, though ;)

**Drake220: **Cinematic offal? Ooh harsh….lol. Yup, the quote occurred to me as I was writing the author's note and I just had to put it in. I'm glad you liked Megumi's role in the chapter!


	5. Hit Hard

**A/N:** Thanks to all my reviewers- I'm very pleased with the responses I've been getting, and they make me want to update faster. Well, here it is: the continuing saga of Kenshin and the trouble that just won't leave him alone. What's he going to do when he finally gets the call that tells him he has to kill someone? Please R&R 

Oh! And for the many that guessed at that silly quote last time, it was from Beauty and the Beast! I know, I'm a dork!

"**Life Insured" **

**Chapter 5: Hit Hard**

"So, whatcha working on, chicken face?" The young and, in Sano's opinion, very annoying voice, piped through the federal agent's train of thought.

"It's _rooster-head, _actually…hey!" Sano grumbled at the slight. The only person he allowed to call him that was Megumi, and even she was pushing the limit. As far as he was concerned, his nicely coifed hair didn't resemble poultry of any kind.

Yahiko sneered at his reaction.

"Anyway, I'm working on a very high-profile case, Little Yahiko, so would you please get out of my office?" he waved off the younger man with disdain.

Yahiko wrinkled his nose as he scoffed. "High profile? Like _what_…?

Sano snorted. "Like evil, evil men with no soul and bad tempers that would eat you for breakfast. Like, Makoto Shishio…_that_ kind of high profile."

Despite his youthful arrogance, Yahiko's eyes widened to the size of silver dollars. Everybody knew the stories about Shishio's organization. "You and Megumi are tracking down his gang? How do you expect to do something like that?"

"With a little help from friends…" Sanosuke smiled widely, stretching his arms above his head. "….some very, very unlucky friends…"

* * *

Kenshin hadn't been able to bring himself to take Hiko's sword home with him. The alien idea of bringing a killing object into his home had horrified him… perhaps he had also been afraid that, if he brought it home with him, he would be saying that he accepted fate as Shishio's pawn. He had left it safely tucked between his file cabinet and computer desk, so that no janitor would move it. After having rearranged it five times to make sure it would remain well hidden, the insurance agent had even taken the care to place a small scrap of paper on the end of the tall, thin box. If any man were to move it, he would know it in the morning.

Now, crouching on the floor next to his desk, Kenshin was glad that he wasn't visible to most of the other workers. He had always hated being isolated from the world by cubicle walls, but for yet another time in these past few weeks, he was eternally glad no one could peek in on him. He carefully dragged out the cardboard box from the narrow space, noticing with relief as he did, that no one had moved it the night before.

Looking around furtively once more, Kenshin tentatively pulled the sheathed sword from the box. Despite his initial hesitation to study it, he couldn't deny that he felt a certain kind of breathless awe as he held it in his hands. The workmanship of the glossy wood of the sheath, and the leather-bound handle that was softened and worn with use, impressed him. He wrapped his fingers around the handle and slowly pulled the blade from its sheath.

When freed, it made a dull clinging noise, and he jumped slightly. The steel was shining, perfectly polished, with a delicate curve and point at the tip. He gently reached out a fingertip to feel for the sharpness, and when it touched, he felt the blade already piercing his skin. He held the edge of the blade close to his eye for a moment, seeing the nicks and small stains running down the ridges of the steel.

Kenshin shuddered quietly. It had just occurred to him that Hiko had used this sword for killing men. Those ridges had many times been filled with skin and blood and human hair, later to be cleaned carefully. He pulled the blade away from his face in disgust, testing out a tiny swing, if only to hear the whooping noise it made in the air.

Kenshin suddenly discovered that the idea that what was in his hand was a murder weapon wasn't what frightened him the most. He was probably most afraid of how right the weapon felt in his hand. The heavy steel and crafted handle should have weighed down on his arm, but it almost felt as light as a feather- as if it were made just for him.

Shaking the sickening thought away, Kenshin slipped the sword back into its sheath. He hurriedly stuffed it into its box and shoved it back into the dark space between the desk and cabinet, and tried to forget it was there.

* * *

When the call came for him that afternoon, he was surprised at how a part of him had been prepared for it. With Hiko's sword sitting at his feet, and his mind now constantly drawn away from his work, having the call over with was almost enough to bring a sigh of relief… almost.

"Shishio wants it to get done in two days. No exceptions."

"I see." He worried his lip with his teeth. The constant light happiness of the boy on the other end had begun to again make him nervous. The voice was pure, unreadable… but Kenshin felt that it was always testing him for some kind of slip in his demeanor.

"The subject will be at an apartment on the west side. The address is 690 26th Street. Apartment D."

Kenshin made sure his voice was low and gravelly, all the while hoping to catch some kind of hint on what was going to happen. Who, in fact, was this person that they were hoping he would kill? Who could possibly deserve the fate of a slash from a sword like Hiko's? "690 26th Street. Is there anything else I need to know?" There were questions his mind was yearning to ask, but he could not say.

"There are neighbors very near. Scout them out before you try anything."

"I know that." His own voice was cold and disdainful.

The young, smiling voice did not sound miffed at all by the customary rudeness. That voice seemed like it had never had an angry moment in its life. "You will not be paid until everything is completed and it isn't traceable back to you, understand?"

"Understood."

The caller hung up as soon as the word had left his mouth, and Kenshin's face fell into his hands, as he exhaled silently. He had done it- he had gotten this far, and the mafia apparently still believed that he was their dangerous, cold-blooded killer. Now that he had accomplished his goal, he could find a way to get Kaoru and himself out of harm's way. She could forget about worrying over him, and he could rid his simple life of these weird customers, frightening phone calls, sleepless nights, and killing weapons sent to him in the mail.

Now, all that was left was for him to contact this Sanosuke Sagara person. Then this whole mess would be over. After all, how could anything possibly become worse than it was now?

-----------------------------

Kenshin couldn't find a break for another hour or so after the call, and when he did, he jumped desperately at the opportunity. Stuffing his arms into his long coat, and snatching up the F.B.I. agent's business card from his desk drawer, he escaped into the elevator. His fingers rubbed nervously over the thick material of the small card, as he waited for the tiny compartment to move down the thirty floors. Once on the ground, he would be one step closer to that phone booth… one step closer to freedom.

In the lobby, he began sprinting through a crowd of people. It was drizzling outside, the sky overcast and gray. He took off down the street, weaving in and out of the pedestrians. A few caught brief notice of the small, redheaded man that was moving surprisingly swiftly, a determined and eerily focused look on his face.

Megumi had told him to leave the business district in order to make his call, which meant he had to walk at least four blocks. So in haste, he had not even considered taking his car with him. The quicker it was done, the better. As fat drops of rain began hailing from the dark clouds above, Kenshin's hair was becoming plastered to his forehead. Everyone else on the street dashed for cover under overhangs and in their cars, while Kenshin headed straight on for his goal.

Many blocks away, the business district began changing into the quainter apartment complexes and townhouses of the south side of town. There were large patches of grass on the sidewalks, and trees growing from planters. And, best of all, he could see a red-painted phone booth on the corner of the street.

Speeding up, Kenshin darted into the phone booth whose glass had been scratched up and graffiti-ed after a decade of standing on the same busy street. With cold, wet fingers, Kenshin pulled the square, smooth card from his pocket, his lips silently forming the numbers as he dialed the number.

Two curt rings and then a deep, drawling voice picked up on the other end.

"Yeah?"

"Mr. Sagara?" Kenshin asked quietly.

"Who's this?" The voice sounded on edge.

"My name is Kenshin Himura. I'm an insurance agent for Imperial Insurance and I met with your partner on-"

"Ah, yes…Kenshin. Megumi told me about you. I gather they've called you to tell you what the new job is?" Kenshin wondered in the back of his mind why he sounded so urgent.

"Yes… it's in the west side."

"Look, Kenshin… things aren't exactly going the way Megumi and I had planned them." The deep voice, which sounded as if it were naturally strong and booming, had a slight falter in it.

His stomach dropped. "…What do you mean?" Kenshin gritted his teeth. He had expected that once he had told everything to the F.B.I., they would take care of the rest.

"We had planned to take over everything from here, and not let you get in any more danger… but…things have changed."

Kenshin's voice became subdued and hardened. "Changed? What's that supposed to mean? I was under the impression that Miss Kaoru and I would be completely safe."

"There's a problem." Sanosuke's voice fell to a whisper, as if he dreaded to speak the words. "Megumi's been found out. Once she came back from visiting you, they discovered that she had been playing them all along. At least, that's what we think happened. I haven't heard from her for over a week, and we just heard that Shishio's lackeys are moving."

Kenshin leaned heavily against the scratched glass, his breath splaying across it in a wave. "That means… they're going to find out who I am."

"There's a high probability they already know."

Kenshin gulped, his mind spinning around the idea. Just when he had believed it was all over, he was in even more serious danger. "What should I do…?"

"You have to get out of town as quickly as possible. Once they find out, they will be after you. The farther you get away from them, the better. If you stay in town you may be dead within the day. But, if you leave now, you may be out of danger."

The questions were threatening to spill out of Kenshin in a wave, as he took it all in. What would he do about Kaoru? How far could he run away?

"I'm sorry it has to be this way, Kenshin, but it can't be changed. Now…I-" he paused for a second as if listening to someone else in the room. "Oh no… I have to go! Whatever you do, keep my number with you. Try your best not to contact me, though. It's too dangerous. Get out of town- quickly!" The conversation ended as swiftly as it had begun.

Kenshin glared, horrified, at the receiver for a long moment. He was beginning to hate how people were always hanging up on him. It was beginning to go hand-in-hand with everyone walking all over him.

He dropped the phone into the cradle, fingering the business card absently in his closed fist as he jammed it in his overcoat pocket. Dazed for a second, he stepped out of the cramped booth. As soon as the cold rain began pounding on his head again, he knew what he had to do. He had to get out of town as fast as he could.

* * *

When he arrived back at the office, the rush of departing businessmen had begun. It was six o'clock and a Friday, and most people were hurrying to the parking structures or bus stops so they could enjoy the rest of their evening. Kenshin paid them all a fleeting glance, though he wondered vaguely what it would be like to be the simple-minded worker he had been just weeks ago. At this time of night, he would have only worried himself with what his dinner would be. Now he feared for his life.

The lights were going down in the main offices of his sector as he reached the thirtieth floor. Only a scant few agents were still in their cubicles, and even the main ceiling lights were being turned down low. Adrenaline coursing through him, Kenshin jogged towards his own cubicle. He quickly began scouring his desk for all the useful items that he needed- wallet, money, credit card- and gathering them up desperately. There was no time to go home and get things. That would only slow him down.

He hesitated for a long moment, remembering the package that was hidden at the side of the desk. The thought of taking the weapon with him was not appealing, but Hiko's note seemed to be pointing to this very time. _I may not have to use it, but it _is_ one more clue for them to find. _Leaning down swiftly, he yanked the box from its hiding place, and tucked it under his arm.

Before he could think of leaving, Kaoru had already accosted him, obviously having seen him come in so frantically.

"What's going on, Kenshin?" He realized vaguely what he must look like to her- wild-eyed, with red hair plastered onto his face, while ripping through his desk drawers like a panicked animal.

He stood up stock straight, knowing that he couldn't lie to her. "I… have to leave town for a little while."

Kaoru's face drained of color, and her mouth fumbled over the word. "…Leave…? But… what happened? You're in danger- aren't you?"

He pursed his lips together, and making sure his face didn't betray him. "Don't worry, Miss Kaoru. I'll be just fine. The F.B.I. said they'll protect me." It was a lie. He tried to smile reassuringly. That was also a lie. He wasn't assured at all of anything he had said.

"I'm coming with you, then!" She insisted adamantly.

"Miss Kaoru, you can't come with me! You're much safer here than with me! I'm their target!"

Kaoru shook her head, her round lips pouting in her ultimate decision. "I'd feel safer on the run with you then I would here alone! Anyway, I can't let you go out there by yourself!" She reached out to tug on his arm to emphasize her point.

He looked both scared and regretful at her words… he felt frightened that he did want her to come with him more than anything. But, to take her along could mean worse consequences for the both of them. He turned away from her, hiding his violet eyes with his hair. He didn't want to look at her, for fear that he would cave in.

Kenshin held the package he carried more firmly between his arm and body, beneath his trench coat, not giving the pretty woman another glance as he hurried towards the elevator.

"I'll walk you to your car, Miss Kaoru, that I will." His voice was again hard and detached, and Kaoru's face fell. Now that he had made up his mind, Kaoru was sure that not she, nor anybody else, would be able to penetrate that hardened gaze.

* * *

**A/N: **Eeek! Now that Kenshin and Kaoru are splitting up, what's going to happen to the romance part of this story?! You'll find the answer in Chapter 6… ;)

**Review Replies:**

**BradyBunch4529: **Thank you! Hehe it would have been fun to see Kenshin get whapped by Kaoru… but she's a bit more dignified than that in this story… ok, well only very slightly! haha she's still petty when it comes to Megumi. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

**Shihali: **I wonder if that means you like my interpretation of Soujiro or not…? If not, it has been a bit difficult to portray him through phone conversations, and I've been focusing on making his way of speech more accurate. Once his persona, and not just his voice, gets introduced, I think my characterization of him is a lot better. He's really a very interesting character to write. I'm glad you like the story so far!

**Pego5678: **Glad to know you feel it's accurate! Well, they'll be some kickass action… but not for a while. Not till Kenshin gets over his unnatural fear of weapons… I wonder if you can guess where that aversion stems from?

**Mana Mihara: **Yay! Glad you took the long trek from Guilty Pleasures ; ) Thanks for reviewing, and I'm so glad you like the development of everything. And, yes… I do believe Kenshin needs a big hug after all that's happened so far ::would gladly do it::

**Killer Cool Sobe: **Well… he doesn't actually find out who that assignment is for… maybe I should have included it! That brings me to a whole 'nother can of worms… So, how's "Hikari" going? New chapter soon, eh? ::hint hint:: XD

**Supernaturalove: **hmm… condescending, eh? Well, I guess his character changed from my original take on things, so I guess I might have overdone it with trying to make him less of a wimp. Glad you like the meticulous-ness! I thought it was a nice touch…

**Tamatama: **You get a cookie! ::throws cookie:: Thanks for the comments!

**Drake220: **You think you're immature for finding the title funny? Haha… what about me who WROTE the title… I was laughing way too hard at the time…me and my perverted mind…

**Animemistress419: **I like that line too… because it gave some kind of indication of romance. Thanks for your wonderful compliments!

**Nanakiyoda: **Hope you liked this one too!

**AngelsExist: **Here's what happens next! ; ) Hold on for next chapter… it's going to be the most romantic yet!


	6. Road Trip

**A/N:** And here's where you get to find out what happens to Kaoru and Kenshin. I see that burning light of excitement in your eyes, so get reading! Thanks to everyone who left me a review- all the comments are so sweet!

**"Life Insured"**

**Chapter 6: Road Trip **

When Kenshin and Kaoru reached the parking structure, still no words had been exchanged between them. Kenshin tried to keep a safe and respectable distance away from Kaoru, while Kaoru trailed behind uncertainly. She couldn't understand why he was so adamant about shouldering this burden alone, and why he wouldn't allow her to help him.

The parking garage was almost sufficiently cleared out for the day. A scant few cars littered the lot, but besides those, it was empty. Their steps echoed frighteningly loud between the concrete pillars of the wide space.

Kaoru was dreading the moment when they would reach her car. The faster that happened, the sooner Kenshin would be out of her sight for good. He would leave town, and maybe never come back. She might never know if he had lived or died. He would be alone in his final moments and, worst of all… he would never know what she felt for him. She'd been searching for an opportunity to ask him all the questions that had been plaguing her… to tell him all the things she loved about him. She had always expected there would be more time to do these things.

One more pillar to pass, and then they would be there. Kaoru clutched her purse with cold fingers, wishing Kenshin would at least get rid of that silly, reassuringly bright look on his face. It was so obviously a mask, that Kaoru wanted to shake it out of him. They both knew that he was just as worried as she was.

But, when they finally reached Kaoru's car, all motion and thought was held in suspension as they saw what was in front of them.

Kaoru's mouth opened in a silent gasp, as she looked over the damage to her car. The driver side window had a hairline crack running through it, the door handle wrenched at an odd angle, and the door halfway open, as if someone with experience and speed had broken into her car. Someone that hadn't particularly cared about being noticed. But… why? What reason could anybody possibly have for breaking in her old beat-up car, as opposed to the expensive imports and shiny convertibles that were parked right beside it?

She turned to glance at Kenshin who, upon seeing the wreck, had also stopped dead in his tracks. They could both see that the glove compartment had been flung open, bits of paper and forms strewn over the seats. His eyes narrowed slightly, the meaning of it knocking his head. Without even a word, Kenshin had grabbed her wrist tightly in his fingers, and had begun running towards his own car. She tried to hang on for dear life, wondering when Kenshin had ever learned to run so fast.

"What's going on, Kenshin?!"

"You're going to have to come with me."

Kaoru knew she should have been glad that he had finally seen things her way… but by seeing the look in his eyes, she didn't feel any kind of relief.

* * *

That intense gaze in Kenshin's eyes had continued, unwavering, for the next hour or so. Direction had changed quicker than Kenshin could have planned for, and now he was forced to bring Kaoru along with him. He had to admit: it was rather calming having her ride next to him in his cramped car. But every time he felt the calm washing over him, he was again reminded of all the dangers that might lie ahead of them.

It was obvious now that the mobsters knew Kaoru was involved. It wasn't obvious what their true purpose was, but he was sure that whoever the culprit had been, it wasn't some teenage hoodlum. The door had been opened almost cleanly, despite the small crack in the window. No valuables had been stolen. The only thing they had been searching for was information.

If Kenshin had taken Kaoru home, it was a large possibility that any number of shady figures could have been waiting to pounce on her once she arrived. Therefore, he couldn't risk taking that chance.

As Kenshin ran these thoughts through his brain, Kaoru watched him in uncertainty. The man who was normally so fluidly kind and serene was gripping the top of the steering wheel with white knuckles. His bright eyes were focused only half on the road in front of him. The rest of him was obviously weighing the situation.

She leaned back into the passenger seat, a quiet sigh escaping her lips. Kenshin looked so intense and so worried, that she wished she could do something to make it all go away. She became lost in her own thoughts, the thrumming of the worn-out car engine making almost lulling noises in the silence between them.

He had changed so much in less than a month. He was still the same sweet man as ever, but the constant pressure and paranoia had taken a toll on him. The kind face, once only marred by the deep cross-shaped scar, was now also marred by the strange play of emotions on his face. He had become sterner, and if she had not imagined it, he was more self-assured. His movements in the parking garage, his straight shot out of town, had not been lies. Where the entire office knew him as their pliable agent who would bend over backwards to accommodate even the lowest of demands, Kaoru was seeing that that wasn't his true personality.

Without a false smile on his face he looked almost like a tragic character in some story. Perhaps it was the scar that made it seem that way, she considered.

The mottled lines of skin on his left cheek had been the first thing she had noticed about Kenshin, right after his unusual hair and eyes. It was impossible not to flicker your eyes to it upon first glance. It covered almost the entire cheek- lip to ear, eye to jaw. It made one wonder immediately what horrible fight or torture had given him that kind of wound.

Kenshin pressed his foot down further on the gas, as the small vehicle practically flew onto the highway with a string of other cars. They were now passing the city limits. But, where would they go, even if they managed to escape the watchful eyes of Shishio and his gang? If they kept on running, they might remain alive for a little longer… but would they ever be able to find peace of mind?

* * *

Two hours earlier… 

Soujiro Seta glided into the room, giving Yumi Komagata a pleasant smile. His smile was infectious, and it was usually hard for her not to smile back. But she swore that sometimes she wondered when that grin would disappear. It never had, of course, but even in the most unlikely times, Soujiro Seta's eyes were twinkling and the corners of his mouth were turned upward.

She looked down at the sword he was holding at his side. She supposed that on any other man, carrying a Japanese sword while wearing normal clothing would look very silly. But Soujiro had carried a sword for as long as she had known him, and it had become like another limb on his body.

"What does Shishio want me to do?" His voice was high and light, reflecting his boyishness.

"She's in the other room. He wants to know everything you can squeeze out of her."

"Does he want me to kill her afterwards? Physical torture?"

Yumi shuddered just slightly. It was always unnerving to hear him talk about death as it if gave him joy. She knew that wasn't correct. Soujiro didn't necessarily wish for the suffering of man- he only desired to follow Shishio's wishes. He would kill whoever Shishio said deserved it, without so much as blinking an eye.

Yumi had wondered about Soujiro's disposition right from the first time she had met him. The smile was frightening. Nobody knew when Soujiro might crack from the pressure of the lives he had taken. Once she had inquired, concerned, about his past to Shishio. He had told her in simple words how he had met the orphaned Soujiro on the city streets ten years before, cold and starving. Shishio had always supposed that Soujiro had experienced something horrible. The smile hadn't fooled _him._

_"What was it that happened to him?" _she had asked Shishio solemnly.

_"He killed his entire family." _

Yumi had gasped in shock. _"Killed his… But, why?"_

_"He never told me, but I assume he had been abused. There were scars and bruises all over his body. He told me that he wanted to serve me, and that I could train him. He didn't want to be weak anymore."_

Shishio's one philosophy that was apparent in everything he did, was that "the strong survive, the weak die." He chanted it to his men; he used it as the reason for everything he did. They had all adopted the philosophy, including Soujiro. With Shishio growing in power and influence by the day, it had to be true, didn't it? And if it wasn't true yet, she knew that his fashion of thinking would soon prevail.

She looked at Soujiro with a calm and humorless expression. "No, actually, he doesn't want her to die quite yet. He would rather you kept her as safe as possible. He said there may be use for her in the future."

_But she won't be alive for long, _she told herself. Even if Shishio planned on keeping Megumi Takani alive for just a little bit longer, she would not escape with her life. Shishio hated being tricked and used. That was the reason he had gone underground to topple the system. The government had tried to manipulate him all of his life by putting him in dangerous situations and making him accomplish their own cowardly goals for them. The fact that the woman had been able to weasel her way in so easily through his secure structure was infuriating him. She wouldn't be spared.

"Yumi…?" Soujiro was studying her face.

"What?"

"Cheer up. You look so sad!" He grinned at her.

She chuckled. "Thanks, Soujiro." He was the only one in this organization besides Shishio who really seemed to care about her personally. She was glad he cared. "Good luck."

* * *

The trees whipped by the car window, blurring against the darkening horizon. They had been on the road now for almost two hours. As night approached and they moved farther away from the city, Kaoru and Kenshin still felt the constant unrest of running away from the danger, but not quite escaping it.

Kaoru felt her stomach growl, and she twitched in embarrassment. She was surprised, when she looked over at her companion, to see that Kenshin was smiling weakly. "I guess we should find something to eat, that we should…" his own stomach turned in hunger, and he chuckled quietly.

A short time later, Kenshin pulled the car into the gravel drive of a small grocery store off the road. Both opened their doors, taking the time to stretch their limbs. Kenshin went in alone. Kaoru sat in waiting for him, tapping her fingers frantically on her stocking-ed leg. She had been trying to forget why she was out on a drive with Kenshin. It was easy to pretend for a while that he had invited her out… until she remembered that they hadn't been talking to each other for fear of where their conversation might lead. Uncomfortable silence and small talk seemed to be the preferred solution.

Ten long minutes later, Kenshin emerged from the store, a full paper bag in his arms. She sat up eagerly. Kenshin slid into the driver's seat quickly, immediately starting up the engine. She peered at his face, concerned, seeing some amount of tension playing at the muscles of his defined jaw.

"What is it, Kenshin? Did something happen in there?" The car roared on to the road, leaving the few cars in the parking lot behind in a cloud of dust.

As she began to rifle through the items in the bag- bread, cheese, meat, apples, water- Kenshin spoke up again in a fairly subdued voice. "Nothing bad happened, but I didn't really like how the cashier looked at me." His eyes shifted along the road. "I guess it's not so abnormal that I be looked at funny…" His small smile was wry and soothing. "I paid all in cash. There were other customers there, but they could have been anybody…" he trailed off, not saying what they both were thinking:

_What if someone is already on our trail?_

When Kenshin felt positive that they were as far away from civilization as possible, the engine spluttered to a stop at the side of the road. Flicking off the headlights, and instead reaching for the flashlight in the glove compartment, they exited the small car. The flashlight spread a small circle of pale light over the hard-packed dirt under their feet, through the pitch black of the settled night.

They positioned themselves side-by-side, sitting against the side of the red sedan, with the bag of food and weak flashlight between them. They ate silently, wearily, for a while, chewing thoughtfully on their sandwiches.

After a long moment of pregnant hesitation, Kenshin spoke in the midst of their dinner. "Miss Kaoru…" Kaoru raised her eyes to look at his shadowed face, silently convinced that she could have watched him speak eloquently the rest of her life. "I'm sorry for everything. For dragging you into everything like this."

Kaoru's eyes flew wide open in surprise, and now she almost felt like smacking the silly man for thinking such thoughts. "What are you talking about?! It's my fault that I'm here," she berated. "I should be apologizing to _you_ for burdening you like this!"

Kenshin turned his violet eyes and a genuinely surprised face to look at her. "Miss Kaoru, you're not a burden to me. I rather enjoy your company, above anyone else." He said it simply as he smiled kindly at her, and her heart turned.

They fell into silence, Kaoru looking down at her food with a pleased glint in her eye. She _wouldn't _get all starry-eyed over this…she just wouldn't! It was silly enough that she be pining after someone so out of her league as Kenshin… but he had probably not meant anything by the comment. That was just the kind of person he was. He never hesitated to hand out sweet remarks, but they also seemed to rarely have hidden meaning.

Kenshin leaned his head back against the surface of the car, and Kaoru followed suit soon enough. Above them spread an expanse of stars too far for their eyes to reach to the end. Kaoru breathed in awe.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Kenshin's warm voice shone with appreciation.

She studied him for a moment, noticing that, even though Kenshin wore his insurance salesman's loafers and tie, he still looked natural in the moonlit setting. The soft light framed his red hair, fell perfectly in his violet eyes, and illuminated his wide scar eerily. Sitting so close to him, and almost feeling the heat radiate from his body, Kaoru felt as if she could pretend again that they were on a romantic outing. She took in the astounding view of the night sky, watching breathlessly as a meteor streamed across the inky abyss. She couldn't pretend, she knew, but also silently considered that if she had to be trapped with anyone out in the middle of nowhere, she would have chosen Kenshin without one moment of hesitation.

He was trying so hard to be calm and supportive, even if he was the one in the most danger. And, even if Kenshin had been acting as if he were old and useless, he was far more useful than he realized.

"So, how does a man get such a nasty scar?" she smiled teasingly at him, the cool night air and intimacy of the moment somehow pushing her courage in bringing up the topic. Now that they were out in the freedom of the land beneath the sky, it felt as if everything could be put out in the open.

Kenshin's eyes took on that faraway look she had seen in them so many times before. Why did that seeming absence of light make her heart ache for him? Kenshin continued to face the sky, and his long lashes delicately fluttered closed over his eyes.

"It's a long story…" Kaoru straightened up a little more, her curiosity piqued. Kenshin's eyes opened again, and she noticed his thin, white fingers tighten on the cloth that fell over his knees.

"When I was twenty eight, I was in love with a woman…" Kaoru said nothing even when he paused for a long moment, focusing on the change that had come over the red-haired man beside her. His goofy, polite way of speaking was dropped for the time being, as his smooth voice traced over the memories of the past like fingertips over an old photograph.

"We were married the spring of that year… ten years ago…" This made Kaoru's heart skip a beat. She supposed that she should have known that Kenshin would have had a wife, but she instead had the ridiculous idea that he was her pure and untainted coworker who had no experience with women… as if he were somehow saved up only for her.

"It happened six months after the wedding. I came home from work one day, and I found an intruder in our home. He had come for both Tomoe and I."

_Tomoe… that was his wife's name…_

"He wanted to kill us. I tried to fight with him, but he was too strong. He… had a knife…and…" his voice wavered almost unnoticeably. "He gave me this wound and stabbed me, and left us both to die. The doctors were able to save me… but Tomoe bled to death before the ambulance could arrive." Kenshin hung his head low after a moment, and Kaoru couldn't help the lump that rose in her throat.

"How….terrible…" It came out in a whisper. She desperately wished she could reach over to wrap her arms around him, but by that cold look on his face, she could tell that it wasn't her place to do so.

Kenshin blew out a humorless chuckle, but his voice retained a little bit more of his normal self-deprecating charm. "Time has helped… even if the memories have not been erased." He was staring absently at his hand that rested on his thigh, as he flexed the strong fingers absently.

Kaoru sat in shock, her mouth fallen open. "Who- who would do such a thing?" She couldn't understand it: how could anybody be so heartless as to ruin the life of a happily married couple?

"It was Tomoe's younger brother. He was psychotic. I guess he had been that way ever since their father died. He had convinced himself that no one should have Tomoe's love but himself. She…never talked about him."

Kaoru's stomach dropped in horror, her mind standing still in shock. What could she say to something like that? It had been a decade ago, hadn't it? But even ten years could not fully get rid of a memory like that, just as Kenshin had said.

"Was she… very beautiful?" she asked quietly. Maybe if she could allow Kenshin to talk about what had happened, he might lose that frightening solemnity in his eyes.

"The most beautiful." He smiled as if in remembrance of something about her. He raised his head again, the disguised pain still apparent under the smile.

"I promised myself after that day that I would never put a woman I cared about in danger ever again… that I would be strong enough to protect her." He smiled half wryly, and half in regret. "But, I guess I haven't done a very good job of it, have I?"

Kaoru did her best to ignore the leap her pulse had taken when he had mentioned that he cared for her, and instead smiled back encouragingly. "You're doing a great job. I haven't felt this safe in years." It was the truth. He looked glad, and scanned his eyes over the trees in front of them as he reached up a thumb to absently trace the lines of the deep scar.

Then, as if suddenly remembering where they were and why they were there, Kenshin stood up and helped Kaoru up from the dirt. "I guess you should get some rest, that you should, Miss Kaoru." He was somewhat back to normal. "I'll keep watch."

Kaoru looked at him with an incredulous expression- after all he had been through, Kenshin was still willing to sacrifice his own well-being. "Then _I'll _drive tomorrow- no buts, mister! You need your rest too." When he attempted a protest in a strangled cry, she shushed him effectively with an outstretched finger. She feared that one day, Kenshin's kindness would be the death of him… especially if he remained content with acting so dimwitted around women.

As the two pushed over who would sleep and who would drive, they suddenly saw the headlights come up over the ride of the road behind them. They paused for a moment, both of their hearts stopping as they watched the headlights approach. Their brief respite from their fears had made them temporarily forget to be watchful, and now they remembered the flashlight on the ground and their car in plain view.

Kaoru gulped, her hands still resting on Kenshin's forearms to push him towards the car. She watched with agonizing apprehension as the car's headlights suddenly snapped off, and it disappeared mysteriously into the brush about a mile down the road. Something about it had made Kaoru's stomach churn nervously.

Only one thing was apparent to both of them.

"We have to get out of here."

* * *

**A/N: **Information overload, huh? Well, it answers _some _of your questions, I hope. And I daresay it brings up other ones. Don't be afraid to ask or guess, either. Who knows whether you just might think the same way I do… (great minds think alike, eh?)**Review Responses:**

**Pobbin: **Hello, my friend! Glad to see your name on my review page once again, since you leave such wonderful compliments! I'm glad my hints drive you crazy… I hope you like the stuff revealed this chapter… more to come next chapter!!

**Pego5678: **Wow, you pretty much hit the nail in the head with the parking lot thing. Yeah… the fact that he's all "weapons are evil" is kinda a problem for the action side, but it shall happen….and, yes!! Brandon Boyd is awesome! Incubus is so cool. I'm currently in a Smashing Pumpkins/Muse phase right now, and I'm glad to hear you love them too. I'm most sick of the Linkin Park/Evanescence craze. Too many AMVs. Far too many. They're talented and all… but, y'know…. ; )

**Myname: **Hmm.. why the gang would hire a hit man? Let's just say they're not necessarily the Juppon Gatana. I know it would seem to be that way, but I pretty much created the gang with the thought of Shishio, Soujiro, Yumi and Hoji, and not all ten.The mob more representsthe ideasthat what Shishio stands for, but not with the same army that he had before… if that makes any sense…?

**Qem: **Never seen Kenshin?! Well, then my friend, you know what you shall have to do ;)

**Drake220: **Violence! Haha I don't know about kicking him in the balls, as Sano, while being manipulative in a way, is not necessarily looking for Kenshin to be hurt.

**Shihali: **You didn't see her found out because I didn't show it…yet….

**BradyBunch4529: **Yeah, Kaoru's quite unstoppable… but it's all kinda worked it's way out….sort of… despite the being chased by evil mobsters bit XD

**Killer Cool Sobe: **The meeting won't be for a while. And the Juppon Gatana… hmm… probably not all of them will appear… I will have to decide. This may be kept under 10 chapters, depending on how I do in the later chapters, so I'm not sure.

**Animemistress419: **here's a bit of romance!

Thanks also to **catti-dono, TimeWarper, **and **Pyramidgirl89 **for reviewing!


	7. Cat and Mouse

A/N: Good to see you all again! I apologize for the extended wait, but this and the next chapter have been giving me a little trouble. But, no worries. I made the plot bunnies behave   
"Life Insured" 

**Chapter 7: Cat and Mouse**

This song could have been called incessantly annoying. You know, the kind with a washed-out nasal voice, the most repetitive and insanity-inducing chorus ever written, and a bad techno beat? But, at that moment, Kaoru couldn't have wished for anything better to play on the car radio. If nothing, blasting the sound out of the beat-up speakers was distracting her from other thoughts. That's what they both needed.

She had begged Kenshin to let her take the wheel, but the rare times Kenshin put his foot down in matters, he tended to get his way. He was just too darn stubborn when it came to her safety. She had given up protesting that she could take care of herself without his help, because every time she said it, he pursed his lips and straightened his shoulders again.

So, she had to be content instead with bouncing her head to the only passable radio station she had been able to find out here in the flatlands, and amusing herself by watching Kenshin drive. Being alone together in such a small space for such a long space of time had certainly given them both the opportunity to get to know one other. And plenty of time for them to notice the things they had been too ignorant to see before.

For Kaoru, she had always known that Kenshin was an exotic-looking man, if it could be put that way. Nobody she had ever known had those eyes or that hair… or could have pulled them off and still not look like a clown. No other man had the strong slenderness beneath the awkward bumbling nature that made Kenshin so endearing. But, she had never really taken the time to think about the exceptional beauty within him. The more she watched him move and speak in those carefully measured words, the more she saw it.

For the mere twenty-four hours that they had been traveling together, Kaoru had learned so much about him. About why he acted the way he did, who he once had been… and that he was not as untainted as she had suspected. He had experienced more pain than she could probably ever imagine and yet, he still kept the bright smile on his face. She admired him more than any other person for that.

"Kenshin…?" Kaoru turned town the pounding dance rhythms for a moment, as a question popped into her mind. He turned a small smile to her. He looked exhausted after driving for so many hours on end with his eyes drooping slightly, though his hands remained steady on the wheel.

"What is it, Miss Kaoru?"

"Just who was that Megumi woman that came to visit you last week?"

He noticed that she didn't have the same fighting tone as before when talking about the tall and flirtatious woman. "She was an F.B.I. agent. She was trying to help us out."

Kaoru opened her mouth in shock. "F.B.I.!" Now she felt like an idiot! She had supposed that Megumi was just another sleazy client that habitually threw herself at men like Kenshin who couldn't stand up for themselves, but she had been grossly mistaken.

Kenshin nodded, a worried look crossing in his face. "She was a plant in Shishio's mob… but, before we left, she was discovered. That's why we had to leave town so fast. Shishio probably knows now that I'm not who he thought I was."

"…A hit man?"

"Yes." She shivered at the thought of the kind of people that would be hired killers. Thinking back to Kenshin's past, she knew that to put him in a situation and force him to hurt others, considering the way that his wife had been murdered, might just destroy him. It was what he had fought against doing his entire life- he had based his entire existence on being a protector.

Kaoru began to work up the urge to ask the other pressing question on her mind. After many false starts and rephrasing the question in her head, she spoke up once more. "What did you use to do… you know, when you and Tomoe were first married? I mean, I hope you don't mind me prying any more than I already have…" What could a man like him have been- had he always had a desk job? More importantly, she wondered what exactly he had been like when he was her age. She would have liked to known him back when his life had been more carefree.

Kenshin smiled. "I don't mind at all, that I do not. I used to work for the police department."

Kaoru's blue eyes widened in sudden understanding and surprise. "You were an officer?"

"More or less. I was being trained as an assistant detective before Tomoe's death. I decided afterwards to retire from police work. It was… too difficult to do the job anymore after what happened…"

_…Because then he would have to see other murders… he would have blamed himself even more for her death, thinking he could have prevented it from happening. _She completed his sentence in her mind, understanding finally the reasons for the way she had seen Kenshin act. No wonder he was so meticulous and so sharp in his actions. That had been part of his life long ago.

They were edging onto a large city, the back road taking precedent to a main highway. In the distance she could see the silhouettes of a skyscraper or two. She wondered to herself if they would have to sleep in the car tonight, or if they could take a chance on a hotel. After all, they hadn't seen another sign of the car they had seen on the pass, the night before.

When they fell into silence again, she reached forward to blast the music again. Kenshin reached out a quick hand to stop hers, his fingers pushing hers from the dial.

"It's alright, Miss Kaoru." He grinned knowingly. "I don't need it right now." She blushed, seeing that he had realized her purpose in listening to the hideous music. He chuckled lightly at her surprise. "You didn't think I believed you were enjoying the music, did you?"

She giggled despite herself. "I guess you're right…"

Just as the warm feeling brought forth from his grin was settling over her, the car suddenly swerved slightly. It was a miniscule change in direction, but Kenshin had not made one mistake in the past eight hours of driving. Kaoru glanced up in worry, tempted to press him again to let her drive. But, she noticed he was looking just as surprised as she did. He craned his neck to see in the rearview mirror reflection, to see if they had ran over anything.

His strong fingers gripped the leather steering wheel tighter as he inhaled sharply. Within another second, the car took another slight dive on the straight road. It wavered towards the left, as if one of the tires were damaged. Kenshin looked perplexed. Had they gotten a flat?

As the city buildings began growing larger in their view, they began to feel one of the tires failing on them. When Kaoru glanced in the side mirror by her window, another sinking feeling of unexplainable dread began to pull at her stomach. There was a car behind them on the mostly-deserted road. While it had been going at a normal pace for quite a while, she noticed the alarming rate at which the vehicle was speeding up. It would catch up to them very shortly.

She gulped. It was the same kind of car from the night before. Now that she could see it in the fading light of the sunset, she noticed the impeccable shininess of its black paint, and the tint of its windshield. It's bright headlights cut through the settling dusk and fog, like some creepy premonition. It was obvious that Kenshin noticed the car the same time she did, because he wordlessly pressed harder on the gas pedal, pushing them faster towards the oncoming city, and testing to see what the other driver would do.

Without missing a beat, the other car barreled down even faster in their direction, the sleek car moving gracefully on the gray asphalt.

"They're catching up fast, Kenshin!" Kaoru's sweet voice took on an abnormal tinge of fright, as the car drove up close enough that she could see the shape of a darkly clothed driver in the front seat.

Kenshin's jaw fluctuated with the tension, as he narrowed his eyes in concentration. Despite the continuing flap of the damaged left front tire, he drove the car relentlessly. If only they could get into the city- they just might have a chance of losing the dark vehicle that was trailing them. Unfortunately, the car behind them was moving closer and closer, at a rate that promised that even Kenshin wouldn't be able to pretend to ignore the looming danger any longer.

He considered that, after all the apprehension and worry they had experienced lately, what they had feared most had finally arrived—the fight was dropping straight into their hands, and it was a possibility not even he could turn his back from. They had ran and ran trying to escape Makoto Shishio, but had this been inevitable all along? How could Kaoru ever forgive him? How could he forgive himself, he thought, as he watched Kaoru's calm shatter? He would have sacrificed their newly found friendship and closeness, if it meant that she could have been warm and safe in her bed, as opposed to watching a shadowed black car approach like the Grim Reaper flying through the fog.

They were shooting along the road as fast as the weak engine and faulty tire could handle, as they came on a stream of cars heading into the city. The city, less menacing than a metropolis would normally appear, stood as a shining beacon of hope to them both. His hands and feet were beginning to ignore his old standby rule, that laws were written to be followed and not broken grossly, as his red car began weaving dangerously around the other vehicles, darting into the mass of inner city lights and traffic.

"They're gaining!" Kaoru whispered helplessly, as they entered the city at an alarming pace. Kenshin felt the heady energy of the car wheels spinning on the ground, the roar of the engine seeming to reverberate in his ears. A strangely firm decisiveness wracked Kenshin's face as he leaned into the direction of the car, and suddenly swerved them into an alley.

"Please hang on tight, Miss Kaoru!" her eyes flickered to him in incredulity, wondering how he was managing to stay so polite even in a situation like this. She knew at once that Kenshin, even now with the bright intensity in his eyes, was still concerned about her safety, and was blaming himself for everything that had happened up until this point. He had most likely also forgotten that someone else had set him up, if his normal habit of self-deprecation was any indication.

A cry suddenly found its way from between Kaoru's lips as she was unceremoniously flung against the passenger side window as the result of inertia. The car rolled out onto another back street. The front tire now was almost completely done for, making them rock and skid as they sped freely down the gloomy roads.

Kaoru sat up shakily again, moving her mouth to wonder aloud if they had lost their follower, but it was too soon for her to think it. The tall headlights were shining dangerously from around the corner they had just turned. The pain of realization was soon dawning- did this mean that they had no chance of escape? Their tire was now completely beyond repair, and they were having trouble staying on an even course. As Kenshin sped forward in a series of frantic weaving and confusing turns in order to lose the black car, their last sharp turn caused the car to finally give in to the lack of balance. They went spinning violently into a dark alley, and Kaoru felt a stream of adrenaline pulsing in the dizzy turn.

After absorbing the initial muffled impact of the car against a brick wall, Kenshin dazedly opened his violet eyes. He reached up an unsteady hand to flick the headlights off, turn off the engine, and see Kaoru in the bucket seat beside him. Her stark white face was reflecting the same emotions that were tugging at him. His fingers shaking almost unnoticeably, he could do little but reach up with both hands to grasp her cheeks.

"They're going to find us, Miss Kaoru," he whispered, with not a small degree of franticness. "We can't stay here." She nodded in understanding, and before he could tell her to run from him again, she was reaching into the backseat with a knowing air.

"What are you doing?" he gave the young woman a wildly confused look. And then he saw what she held in her hands. It was the long cardboard box. His body shivered involuntarily as she dropped it into his strong hands. His world only belonging for a moment to that confident and caring look in her deep blue eyes, he watched as her lips spoke to him.

"I believe in you, Kenshin. And, I'm not going to leave your side again, no matter what you say…. No matter what you're thinking right now… You have something special in you. It's the reason we can't give up. You've been… running away from that all these years."

His soft eyes widened as he inhaled sharply. Had he been running away? But what exactly did Kaoru mean? _What have I been afraid of all this time?_

"Let's go, Kenshin." Kaoru had scrambled out of the passenger side of the vehicle, which was wedged in an ugly fashion between the brick wall and a chain link fence. She was still shaky from the long hours of sitting still. Finding little time to marvel at the young woman, Kenshin clutched the box tightly in his hands and stepped out onto the gravel that crunched satisfyingly underneath the soles of his brown shoes. The cold wind was almost foreboding in the way that it cut through even his heavy trench coat, and rifled his orange-ish hair. What was it about that wind, though, that made him feel like a different man? He felt a sense of lucidity wrap around him- something he couldn't remember feeling since Tomoe's death. But perhaps it was not the weather, but only the way that Kaoru was holding her hand out to grasp his, that was making him feel this way.

Slowly wrapping his hard fingers around her cold ones, his eyes began to dart to take in their surroundings. Had the car passed them up? Were they safe for now? They could see no headlights anymore on the deserted back road. All that surrounded them were the tall, dilapidated buildings of the gloomy section of the otherwise bustling city. They heard a siren sound somewhere in the distance, the rumble of traffic and the normal buzz of a downtown, but the sounds were all faded out and distant in the face of the problem at hand.

Noticing quickly a set of buildings under construction across the street, his hand gripped tighter over hers. The building was adorned with waving plastic sheet, a scaffold, and new boards, but there were no vehicles or people anywhere near it. Taking a deep breath, he tugged Kaoru along with him as he took off on a sprint down the street. There was sill no sign of their trackers anywhere, as they leapt onto the far sidewalk.

After an awkward climb over the scattered debris at the base of the construction, they were away from the biting wind of the outside, and now face with a shadowed room filled with eerie, transparent sheet and large buckets of white plaster and paint. It looked like a deserted wasteland, but somehow it seemed like a safe haven.

"It looks like the workers have left for the day…" he considered aloud with an edge of gladness, as they weaved carefully around the cloth and building materials on the ground. Kaoru obeyed the red-haired man silently, as he led them up to the second floor of the building. It was in the same disrepair as the first floor, but it hadn't bothered either one of them.

They both collapsed in the shadow of one of the back walls, even the cool slate seeming inviting. That they were in a dark hovel like this, meant that perhaps they could escape the terror of their trackers for just a little while. Maybe Shishio would even grow tired of this game of cat and mouse, if they were able to elude him for long enough. Not that that idea was very plausible… but it was nice to consider, at least.

Kaoru shivered slightly with cold, the second floor still receiving a draft from its open walls. With no hesitation, Kenshin had stripped himself of his long coat, and had settled it over the length of her body with tender care.

She watched him for a long moment, his thin white work shirt outlining the curve of his body eloquently, and his forearms rested on his knees in a stressed pose that couldn't have resembled relaxation. _Oh, Kenshin… you don't deserved any of this. _He'd been through so much already that he shouldn't have had to be in this situation. She had just realized that all these people had been trying their hardest, if unknowingly, to get him to go back on his vow and his ideals. But he hadn't yet wavered from his path. Although it had been difficult for her to realize, maybe Kenshin didn't need to be great or famous or skilled. If he was content, why should the world try to change that?

A sudden wave of trembling pity and pride for him curled around her senses, and she leaned compulsively towards him. He shifted in surprise, as he felt Kaoru rest her head on his warm, muscle-hardened shoulder. He settled back against the wall again, as he unsurely laid his cheek across the top of her head. He was shocked at the peace he felt sitting so close to Kaoru. She had put all of her trust in him, was the one that had driven him this fair. She was the first person he had met since Tomoe that had made his heart warm like this. Kaoru, he had discovered, was as strong and beautiful in mind and spirit as she was in body. A very unique and strange girl… but she drew him to her. He knew he couldn't possibly have done anything to deserve this care and loyalty she had shown him.

Time seemed to stand still as they relaxed into the cold hardness of the wall. The wind and the noise and the cars were passing them by, outside of their dilapidated paradise, but where they were was calm and inviting.

Her chest rose and fell in a quiet sigh.

Kenshin sat straight up without warning, his whole body rigid.

"What is it, Kenshin?" Her thought process had become hazy. The idea that Kenshin had actually accepted her touch had made her blush crazily, and smile to herself. Was Kenshin finally realizing that all he had done warranted attention? That she appreciated him and cared? These were thoughts that had been coursing through her mind, until he had moved so suddenly.

Suddenly, from down below there came a crash, as if someone had accidentally knocked over one of the paint buckets. Kaoru's eyes widened in renewed fear and surprise. Someone else was in the building. Kenshin rocked forwards in a crouch, one of his hands splayed out on the ground to balance his body. He could hear footsteps, and the faint murmur of voices. As the echoing steps became louder, they drew near the foot of the stairway that led to the second floor.

Kaoru's heart clenched in icy terror. Had they been found?

A painfully long moment ended with a single footstep heard on the first stone step.

Kenshin whipped his head around to check the walls and openings. They had already backed themselves into the corner furthest from the stairwell, and there was no third floor. He gulped. They were completely trapped for now.

"Mr. Himura!" The disembodied voice rang frighteningly sweet from the stairs. It was the same boy he had spoke with on the phone. The boy's voice was light and calming as it floated up to their ears in a singsong tone.

"I know you're up there, Mr. Himura... I'd like to have a word with you!"

XXXXXXXXXX

**A/N: **Please leave any comments you may have! Thanks for reading!


	8. Speak Softly Carry A Shiny Sword

A/N: It's been forever, and I am extremely sorry. This chapter was actually intended to cover more ground than it does, but I decided that making you guys wait so patiently for any longer would be totally unfair of me. Thank you so much to everyone who was willing to stand that wait to get more of this story. I apologize in advance for the cliffhanger. 

"Life Insured" 

**Chapter 8: Speak Softly; Carry a Shiny Sword**

_"I know you're up there, Mr. Himura... I'd like to have a word with you!"_

The voice was almost mockingly cheerful, a paradox that froze Kenshin's blood. It was still an invisible source of noise, though. He and Kaoru could both imagine some kind of shadowed person, waiting with intense patience at the foot of the stairwell.

Kenshin finally rolled forward into a shaky stand, his hands twitching in anticipation. Was this what it felt like to be a criminal on the run? Was this what it felt like for a man ruled solely by the laws of violence and mayhem? Those men were always waiting for the next battle.

The cardboard package with Hiko's sword inside was in his hands, and he stared down at it with a sense of finality. It was now or never. There could be no turning back from what was ahead. He would die without regret before letting Kaoru get injured. Besides, her young life and continuous smile were more valuable than his meager existence, right?

Kenshin suddenly flinched in unbridled surprise. Kaoru's hands had found their way to the thin cloth on his back, and they were gripping tightly in desperation. She pulled him close to press her forehead against the smooth, corded muscle between his shoulder blades for a breathless moment.

"Please be careful, Kenshin."

He grunted with a reassuring air, his eyes burning into the space where the stairs entered the room. "That I will, Miss Kaoru."

With a soft tenderness that she could imagine only Kenshin having in this type of situation, he gently unlatched her fingers from his thin shirt, and began moving with agonizing slowness towards the center of the room. His shoes made soft scuffling noises on the ground, and she watched him in awe. What exactly was he planning to do?

"Who's there?" Kenshin's normal voice was nowhere to be heard. He said the words firmly, demanding, and his voice rang effectively down to whoever was on the first floor. He had decided. He couldn't be their assassin, but he wouldn't be afraid anymore. He was too far in to be afraid; to let fear blind him. He had had enough of the games and the mental torture, and of all that this man Shishio stood for.

The light steps were approaching from the bottom floor- insanely measured and evenly paced. Out of the shadows of the stairway came a figure that could have been described as similar to Kenshin. He was a young man- like a boy, really. He had dark hair cut in a short bob, a thin, delicate frame, and a disarmingly pleasant smile on his feminine face. What made the entire picture even more surreal was that the boy had a sheathed Japanese sword, not unlike the one Kenshin was carrying, at a belt on his waist. His arms were behind his back as he swayed forward in greeting.

"Mr. Himura! It's nice to finally meet you after so many telephone conversations." Kenshin eyed the boy warily, distrusting. Was this boy trying to fool him with the pleasantries, or was this his true personality?

"Just who are you?"

The smile widened even further. "I am Soujiro Seta." He bowed courteously to the insurance agent. "I'm Mr. Shishio's key assassin."

Kenshin tried to prevent his own eyebrows from shooting up in surprise. He wanted to be that "cool" man that Megumi had asked him to be. He wasn't going to let Soujiro Seta win him over. He wasn't going to let someone commit murder for their own sick pleasure.

"What do you want from me, Mr. Seta?" His eyes narrowed at the pair of shining eyes across from him. "I hope you understand that I am not the man Shishio wants, and I have absolutely no desire to become involved with violence and corruption, that I do not. I wish you would _both _understand that." His hands gripped firmer on the cardboard, and he heard the sword rattle against the inside of the box.

Soujiro smiled once more, his eyes tilted in a strange gesture of politeness. Everything about him was so carefree and light, that it made both Kenshin and Kaoru uneasy. "Lucky for us we had Ms. Megumi Takani with us! She proved quiet useful to Mr. Shishio… Yes, we know all about you, Mr. Himura."

Kenshin felt a gasp rise to choke in his throat. "…_Miss Megumi_…. What have you done to her!"

The frail-looking boy shrugged in nonchalance. "We extracted information from her. But, don't you worry, Mr. Himura. Her safety will no longer be your concern."

Kenshin felt something inside his body twist in frustration. It was agonizing the way he felt so pinned, with this ever-smiling boy and himself as a not-so-solid wall to protect Kaoru. His dark eyebrows drew together in annoyance. "If you know all about me… Why can't you just leave Miss Kaoru and I alone? We mean no harm to anyone."

Soujiro's lips turned downward slightly, in an apologetic curve. "That's the very unfortunate thing, Mr. Himura. You see, now that you know about us, we can't just leave you and the woman free to tell our secrets." His thin fingers curled in readiness over the handle of his sword. "That's why I'm going to have to kill you both."

Kenshin breathed out slowly, trying again to read the boy's face. How could anybody possibly make their features so unreadable? The smile was like a smooth, impenetrable fortress around Soujiro's eyes, and his body language appeared natural and relaxed. As if he were merely out for an afternoon stroll, and not planning to kill and leave for dead two innocent civilians. He felt simultaneously pulled in and shut out, in the intense locking of gazes with the boy. Soujiro's blank eyes were not asking for anything- he was only waiting.

Waiting for Kenshin to do what….? Finally pick up his sword? Was he really that playful of an assassin that he would patiently wait until his opponent had decided to take up arms?

Kenshin tried once more, feebly. "And you would not even let Miss Kaoru go? It is not her fault she is involved."

Soujiro shrugged good-naturedly. "I cannot."

It was in that brief space of time, watching the same calm glee spark in Soujiro's face, that Kenshin's whole body revolved into his decision. It had truly become the point of no return. He had successfully been able to avoid action of any kind for so long now… and now that the point of a sword was looking him in the face, he couldn't walk away now. He would have to somehow end this… or die trying.

Not taking the chance of flicking his eyes away from the smiling assassin for even a second, his fingers moved their way to the edges of the cardboard box. Lightly tipping the box until the sheath slid into his hands, he deftly threw the box to the side. The wood was smooth and lacquered, and his fingers curled, trembling over it.

"Kenshin…." He flinched, hearing Kaoru speak his name from her position near the wall. That little waver in her voice made his resolve strengthen.

"You must stand back, Miss Kaoru…" he tried to sound reassuring. All the while he was testing the weight of the still-sheathed sword, balancing just the idea of its power in his mind. The last time he had held a weapon had been the day that Tomoe was murdered. He had fought desperately with Enishi Yukishiro over a knife, letting his own face become hideously marred in the process. Afterwards, Kenshin hadn't even taken his gun from the police headquarters home with him. It had stayed in his desk at the station. He had hoped he would have no more use for guns.

Now, this sword was yet another reminder of how much things had changed since then. He had tried desperately to forget what it was like to feel a hatred for someone or despise an ideal so much that you just _had _to do something about it. It was the reason he had decided to become a detective. It was the reason he had made a promise on Tomoe's dying breath. And now it would be the reason he drew this sword against Soujiro Seta. He grimaced mildly. He was out of practice in fighting. Though he had once been prized in the force for his speed and agility, Soujiro's bouncy and perfected offensive stance was unnerving him greatly.

"Your move, Mr. Himura. I have all the time in the world. I will be pleased if you are a good fighter. I am always up for a good challenge!"

Soujiro nodded, smiling, as he whipped his sword out of his sheath. He settled the blade in front of his body with a succinct level of patience.

Kenshin nodded back. He still felt as if he were trapped in a dangerous game of chess, where Soujiro's smiling face was just a ruse, and he was only a pawn. Shutting his eyes for a moment, still afraid that once the assassin was out of his sight he would be dead, Kenshin inhaled a lungful of the cool air of the abandoned building. He had to stay calm, and think out his moves carefully. Otherwise Kaoru's life would not be spared.

He felt two sets of eyes upon him, as he bent his knees into a defensive stance, cautiously drawing the sword to his side. He tried to ignore the shuddering of the blade in the sheath, caused by the trembling of his fingers. Was it only the rush of adrenaline, the excitement of the fight? Or was it fear that was driving his body to respond like this to the foreign touch of a sword?

Kenshin's eyes flashed open once again, narrowing onto Soujiro's relaxed smile.

"I notice you've chosen a defensive stance, Mr. Himura. But, I told you it was your move first. Being cautious will not help you in this fight. The only way you will stand a chance against me," Soujiro aimed his sword playfully in the red-haired man's direction, "is to come at me with everything you have."

Kenshin shook himself, stood straight again, and, following Soujiro's words, slipped the blade out of its sheath. Soujiro was right. The only way he could beat someone like this was to become a fighter. He couldn't keep holding on to his fear, if he was going to beat the assassin. One slide of his foot on the ground, and Kenshin took off towards the other end of the room, lunging forward to land a blow.

It was laughably easy how Soujiro could dodge that move. A simple sidestep, and Kenshin was left with his sword flailing in the air, as he skidded to a stop. He heard tittering laughter behind him, and straightened his body quickly, the frustration washing over him.

Soujiro's eyes sparkled magnificently, as he glanced a finger over the sheen of his light blade. "That wasn't with everything you have," he stated, meaningfully.

Kenshin kept his lips in a thin line, as he struggled to focus. Focus. Concentrate. Listen. See. All the old lessons were coming back to him, but too slowly for them to be of any use. His feet felt heavy and clumsy next to the feather-light steps of the young assassin, and the fact that Soujiro was laughing silently at him, made him realize even clearer how easily the boy could kill him.

Bending his knees once more, Kenshin picked up speed again, this time trying to gauge what direction Soujiro was moving. He kept his eyes trained on the hips, hoping that they would be the telling factor. He jabbed the sword straight into where he thought Soujiro's chest should be, but opened his eyes to find that he was sprawled on the floor, the wind knocked out of him, a sandaled foot poised on his heaving chest.

"Have you already chosen to be killed so easily, Mr. Himura?"

Kaoru huddled against the cold wall, her heart leaping into her throat as she saw Kenshin fall under Soujiro's quick stroke. It had been almost too fast for her to eyes to catch, but the flat of the blade had clearly been forced against Kenshin's stomach, leaving him spluttering under Soujiro's weight. Her lips moved in worry, wanting to shout out to him. But she couldn't interfere with this fight.

She stood up slowly from her crouch, twenty yards away the fight, and thoughts streamed into her mind. What course of action could she take, if she couldn't interfere? Just sitting and watching was driving her insane. If only there were some way she could help Kenshin recapture whatever strength he had left in him. If only… she could call for help.

She dug her cold hands into the deep pockets of Kenshin's trench coat, only half noticing the warm scent that permeated it, and seemed to hang around her protectively. When her fingers brushed against something firm and smooth, she found that her hand was curled around something rectangular and flat that had been in the pocket. Kaoru snatched it out immediately. It was like a business card, with only a name and phone number printed across it.

"Sanosuke Sagara…" Kaoru muttered to herself.

Could this perhaps be the agent Kenshin had spoke of? New hope fluttered in her chest. If she could perhaps contact his man, would they be saved?

It was then that she really began to see her surroundings. The open window just feet from her; the scaffold right below it; the trash bin below that. It was a risky thing to try, but if she could somehow escape, would she be able to contact the F.B.I.?

Kaoru crammed the card back into the pocket, and leaned into an inconspicuous crouch as she glanced back at Soujiro, who was still standing over Kenshin, then back towards the drafty opening. He wasn't watching now- if she were to make her move, she could get out the window to find a telephone booth. But was it safe to leave Kenshin behind? What would he say to her right now?

In a split-second decision, Kaoru grabbed the hem of the trench coat, and made a mad dash towards the window. Though it had seemed so close a moment before, it seemed like miles away. She was about to hurl herself over the sill, when she heard a metal click behind her. The barrel of a gun had just been cocked in her direction.

"Don't move."

**A/N: **Hope you liked it! I've been extremely bogged down by a bunch of things, namely school, college acceptances…. And reading some great manga (Death Note, Monster, Fullmetal Alchemist, HNG, Bleach….to name a few). Hopefully, once I start to read the Kenshin Jinchuu arc I'll be inspired to write even more. But, I promise to finish this story no matter what.

See you soon!


	9. Amber Eyes

**A/N: **Wow. It's been a really long time, hasn't it? I wonder if anyone still remembers that this story exists. To be truthful, I wasn't really planning on ever finishing this story. My life has gone through a lot of major changes lately, including graduating high school, moving, beginning college, and recovering from a major surgery. But, I regained inspiration on this, it being one of my favorites, and I decided to finish it up. I had a lot of fun and plenty of challenges trying to write this chapter, so I hope it turned out good!

"**Life Insured"**

**Chapter 9: Amber Eyes**

_"Don't move." _

Kenshin, in a complicated maneuver, both gulped in and heaved out air, as he struggled underneath Soujiro's weight. His vision cleared after his breath had returned, and he suddenly realized exactly who the boy assassin had been speaking too. In the far corner of the room, he saw Kaoru standing frozen at the window, facing the cocked barrel of Soujiro's handgun.

He laughed aloud at her surprise. "I don't know why everyone is always shocked that I carry a gun with me! I mean, I may be a mindless hit man, but I'm not stupid! There's no I way I'll allow you to leave…alive, that is.." he chuckled to himself, in a sickening display of failed humor.

Kenshin saw the way Kaoru trembled in the face of the gun, and he had to swallow a burning sense of vengeance. Not since Tomoe's death had he felt this sensation- like a hot ball of fire that clenched his stomach and arrested his mind. It was a dangerous feeling, he knew; it was what made the masses move in vicious swoops; it was what made murderers kill others. Wasn't it what had made Shishio the man he had become? The man who had found it so easy to toy with Megumi, and wouldn't blink an eye at killing Kenshin and Kaoru

"_Don't."_ Kenshin was surprised at the heaviness of his own voice, even if the word only came out as a muffled sound from between dry lips.

Soujiro flinched slightly, peering down in curiosity at the man sprawled underneath his sandal. The gun was still waving in Kaoru's direction, though he seemed to have temporarily forgotten the girl. "Are you ready to fight against me, Mr. Himura?" If the look hadn't been so devoid of emotion, it might have been a fearsome sneer.

Although Kenshin felt even more fearful than before, he met Soujiro's questioning gaze with the most intimidating glare he could muster. "….Don't point that thing at Miss Kaoru."

The black-haired hit man raised an eyebrow, pouting comically, before addressing Kaoru again. "He wants me to lower my gun. I'd like to do that, but if you stay near the window, I may just have to shoot."

Kaoru's blood ran cold; one of many times since they had met Soujiro. She felt her brain whir in circles with the force of adrenaline, and all she could do was reluctantly shuffle back, away from the window. She took a shuddering gulp, and raised her palms in a defensive motion. Kenshin felt something inside of him lurch as he watched the terror flitting through her features. The fight was supposed to have been between him and Soujiro. There was no way he could forgive himself if she became involved. If she was hurt because of him, than what use would he have been? Kenshin would have again failed a woman that he cared for: Tomoe, Megumi, and now sweet and innocent Miss Kaoru.

His senses now heightened with a protective impulse, he was once again starkly aware of the foreign object in still clutched tightly in a white-knuckled, sweaty grip. _The sword. _Kenshin grimaced as the surprisingly hefty weight of the young assassin pushed its way into Kenshin's sternum. He had to do something. He had to move. He felt pricks of sweat rise on his forehead, seeming to stir with anticipation.

"Into the corner or I will shoot you!" The gun waved sharply, in odd contrast with the sweet tone of the command. Kaoru fluttered the quickest of glances to Kenshin's face, contorted in a kind of suspended agony. In that moment of her hesitation to comply, Kenshin saw Soujiro's finger flicker above the trigger of the gun as if the situation had been slowed down to lengthy beats. And, without even thinking, Kenshin felt his own body explode into action.

A deafening crack split the air as the gun went off, another clang sounding as the blade of Kenshin's sword hit the thick metal, successfully flinging the weapon out of the hand of Soujiro. The smoking gun clattered on the concrete floor, skidding to a stop on the other end of the room. Kenshin felt his whole body trembling in anger and more than just a hint of violence. In a split second his limbs had reacted to the threat on Kaoru's safety, before his brain even had time to process what was going on. It felt like some subconscious part of his brain had grabbed a hold of him and forced him to act. It was a feeling not unfamiliar to him, of acting on instinct alone…but one that he hadn't felt for what seemed like lifetimes.

Near the wall, Kaoru stood still, rigid with fear, and contorted in surprise. In the wall was a small hole where the bullet had buried itself. An inch or two closer and the projectile would have hit its mark with deadly accuracy.

Kenshin, now standing from a crouch, raised his sword to point into Soujiro's chest, watching intently as the assassin looked back with a yet impenetrable stare. His small fingers were still hanging in the air, clenching at a gun that was no longer there, as if his brain had not registered what had happened, and had not notified his limbs to retract.

"Miss Kaoru…you aren't hurt, are you?"

Kaoru opened her mouth, nothing but silence falling out. Kenshin's eyes, though they were not turned in her direction, were sharp, narrow and focused, with a fierce gleam. She was sure the sentiment behind that glare was not aimed at her, but she couldn't help but be unnerved by it. She snapped as if awakening from a daydream, finally finding her voice. "Yeah…Yes, I'm fine." She exhaled the words, as if confirming to herself that they were true as each one passed her lips.

"Please stay in the corner, Miss Kaoru." It was an order, curt and clipped, but still was human and tender. Something in her felt oddly relieved to hear that tender undercurrent, for it softened his countenance when compared with the frightening look on his face. She nodded shakily in compliance even though he was not watching, and she fingered her way along the wall until she slid against the cool space of the corner.

"I'm impressed, Mr. Himura." Soujiro finally spoke, his voice just as ridiculously light as before, though Kaoru thought she could see a new and strange glint in his eyes. Just like the change now present in Kenshin's demeanor, Kaoru couldn't quite explain what it meant…but something about it frightened her.

Soujiro had finally lowered his hand, his smile widening to epic proportions. "It looks as if you're finally ready to face me as an opponent? I'm glad." He seemed completely unperturbed by the sword that was placed just inches away from his heart, and his own sword was gripped casually in his right hand, as if it were an accessory or even and extension of his arm.

But this time, Kenshin too looked unfazed by Soujiro's smooth calm. Instead, he looked as if he were now on the offensive. "You put Miss Megumi in the way of danger. Now you have turned a gun on Miss Kaoru. I will never forgive you for that, that I will not." The sword wavered slightly, not in weakness, but in anger.

Soujiro smiled thinly, humorlessly, eyeing the blade without any kind of fear. "What a silly thing to say- as if I would ask for your forgiveness! Anyway, you could save both of them at any time, if you'd only admit your desire to kill me…to hurt another human being."

"…Miss Megumi? She's not…" Kenshin's body seemed to experience a wave of pure relief.

Soujiro smirked lightly. "..Dead? No, but close enough. She's here, as a matter of fact- downstairs. A little piece of bartering material for the F.B.I., you see. It'll be a shame for them to have two civilians dead, I'm sure, but they would never stand to see one of their own killed by a _dirty _hit man. This way both Shishio and they will get what they want." He smiled another compliant smile, as if he were done explaining any further. "But that trade won't happen until you're dead."

Suddenly, with the same lightning quickness of his previous attacks, the assassin's sword had matched Kenshin's at chest level. As they swords slid and scraped vertically along one another, both men seemed to be channeling all their force through the contact of the blades. "But I must say that I'm surprised by you, Mr. Himura," Soujiro added slyly. "I thought you'd be weak like the rest of the men I've killed."

Kenshin panted heavily into the force of his push, locks of his unkempt red hair falling like flames around his eyes. "Why should I be weak?" He grunted, clenching his jaw muscles with the effort. "A lack of violence is not a sign of weakness. It's a sign of humanity."

The younger one let out a long, tittering laugh that sounded thinned and far away, as if it were made empty through practice. "That's a lie. It's a part of what we are. Those who say otherwise have never experienced it firsthand."

Kenshin's brows furrowed darkly over steely eyes now like slits. These were exactly the lines that Hiko Seijuro had attempted to feed him before. He narrowly clattered aside a lunge by Soujiro with his own sword, feeling the blade swoop by his shoulder. But within a second, the boy's shining blade had taken him off guard on his other side, leaving a large gash above his waist. Kaoru cried out wordlessly at the sight, watching as Kenshin doubled over slightly, clutching at the blood rising on his white shirt with a pained grimace painted on his features.

"I have experienced violence firsthand…that I have." He rasped out the last bit, almost as if it had been an afterthought, Kaoru noticed. "I've seen enough violence to fill one lifetime." His voice was so quiet now that Kaoru had difficulty making out the words. She watched in anticipation and anxiety as Kenshin batted away another strike, and flung out his blade many times in failed attempts at hits. Had Kenshin been referring to his wife, Tomoe? His encounters with her psychotic brother? But there must have been more. Kenshin had dealt with death by his trade as a detective, even if he had been just a rookie. Who knows what he had seen? Had there been a time when he had fought hand and fist with another? Had he been gravely wounded before? Had he wounded others…?

Even if Kenshin was less experienced than his opponent, it was surprising to see how focused Soujiro seemed to be. Minutes before, he had flipped Kenshin on his back with little more than a touch of his sword, but mow he was having to work to block Kenshin's attacks which, while somewhat clumsy, often came eerily close to their mark.

"You've experienced violence before? As an insurance agent…" The high-pitched giggle, both infuriating and disarming, rang out again. "Then you've wanted to kill before." The accusation was cold and taunting. Kenshin appeared momentarily startled by it, and his countenance became more rigid. Soujiro noticed the change and grinned knowingly. "Or…you have killed before?"

Kaoru drew in a sharp breath. Kenshin seemed to freeze in contemplation, as Soujiro's words hung tensely in the air. What did his hesitation mean?

And with a sidestep that was nearly inhuman in its grace and speed, Soujiro had pierced deep into Kenshin's thigh with a jab of his blade. Kenshin cried out in pain, and as the blade pulled out from the muscle, he fell to his knees. To Kaoru, his body looked crumpled and worn, as he gripped at the wound that gushed a new river of blood through his fingers. The boy's grin was almost wicked in context, his eyes fixed as if willing Kenshin to lose control.

"Have you killed somebody you cared about, Mr. Himura? Another _silly _girl?"

Kenshin's face was hidden by the mass of gleaming red hair, as his whole body seemed to tremble in a mix of pain, exhaustion and mental conflict. And then, without warning, a small voice emerged from him.

"Shut up."

Kaoru felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up as she heard it, icy and firm. His body wavering slightly as he did, Kenshin pulled himself up into a standing position, squaring his shoulders defiantly as he faced Soujiro. Seeing him like this, Kaoru buried a large gasp in her hands. It was as if he were a different man altogether. In the dull twilight, she could see the gleam of sweat on his forehead, on the muscles of his exposed chest and arms, and on his cheeks where, in the light it seemed as if the cross scar were bleeding anew. Streaks of blood shone on across his tattered shirt and trouser leg. But his eyes were what made his appearance so shocking. They shone with an otherworldly quality, with power from an unfathomably deep place. In the faint light they almost looked…golden.

A cold shiver ran up her spine. She came to the sudden realization that this was the first time she had ever seen Kenshin angry. This was more than even just anger. It was rage so deep and rumbling that it made him nearly unrecognizable.

"Shut up." He said it louder this time, his voice terse and stony. He said the words with a vicious sneer. "Or you'll be the one that ends up dead."

"Kenshin!" Kaoru cried out his name, chokingly. She couldn't quite understand what was happening, but she knew that something inside the kind, red-haired man that she had grown so fond of, had snapped.

He didn't even respond to the sound of her voice. Now all he could see was Soujiro facing him, and his face looked as if he truly was the assassin that Shishio had desired out of him. Was this the strength, the power that he had been keeping locked up inside of him this whole time? The boiling anger and emotion that was buried at all times beneath the surface? This was a side of Kenshin that she had never realized existed.

With a primal yell ripping from his lungs, the small redhead began shoving attacks in Soujiro's direction, driving him back against the far wall with amazing precision. The assassin looked mildly dumbfounded at the change in his opponent, who was hammering at him with new and surprising power. Kenshin was moving swiftly and lightly, as if the weight of the sword and his deep wounds no longer had any effect on him; as if he had not spent a day away from the police force.

Soujiro tried to pierce Kenshin's torso once again, but was surprised when the insurance agent dodged the blade. With a swing so forceful and sudden that Kaoru barely saw it happen, Kenshin had slammed his blade into the assassin's face. With the blunt force of the hit, Soujiro was, for the first time, sent into a sprawl on the floor.

Kenshin stood above him, breathing heavily, with a poise that suggested he was waiting for the boy to rise again so he could administer another blow. His eyes were positive glowing with hatred now. Soujiro gradually pulled himself up from the floor, and Kaoru was surprised. Half of his face was covered in blood and a large gash sunk into his cheek, but he was still half smiling through the mess.

The boy reached up a tentative hand to feel at the blood. He laughed uncertainly. "You're the first person who has ever cut my face." His voice sounded somewhat hollow.

"I'm glad." Kaoru was horrified to hear the words, felt helpless to intervene in the bloody match.

The light had become so dim, that that most of what she could see was the silhouette of their bodies, as they moved back against one another, swords clanging like short yells in the cold room. Soujiro, his countenance shaken by Kenshin's blow, managed another strike at Kenshin, only lightly grazing his arm. Kenshin was stumbling in a kind of fervor with his wounds taking a toll on him, but he kept hitting and blocking with the same efficiency as before.

With a grunt, Soujiro swung in an uncharacteristically desperate stroke at this man who was suddenly matching his practiced killing methods. With a growl, Kenshin did something unbelievable. He grasped the boy's sword within his hand, pulling the boy in even as rivulets of crimson ran down his forearm. With a sharp movement of his neck, he slammed his own forehead into Soujiro, leaving them both unbalanced and disoriented.

Kaoru felt a scream of protest rise in the base of her throat. This was wrong. All of it was wrong. This was not the Kenshin that she knew. If the fight went on any longer, one of them would be dead. Kenshin already seemed to be on his last legs, the blood loss getting to him.

"…Stop!" she uttered quietly, her voice clenching.

Without waiting for Soujiro to regain his balance, Kenshin was aiming again for him…this time, would he not hesitate to give a final blow?

"KENSHIN! DON'T!" She screamed it as loud as she could manage. Anything to make him stop. She didn't want to thing about what would happen if the fight kept going on at this pace. What would happen to him if he killed Soujiro?

Kenshin's sword paused, poised shakily in the air. He seemed to open his eyes, see his blade, hesitate in the strike. Soujiro saw his momentary hesitation, and in that moment, moved to make his own final blow.

Suddenly the silence was broken by a thunderous crash, and a blinding light that seemed to stop time altogether. Many dark figures were coming through the window, a harsh light bathed the entire room, and Kaoru felt as if she had lost all of her senses in the commotion. A muffled shot was fired from a gun next to her, and suddenly both Kenshin and Soujiro were on the ground, the figures dashing to swarm around them.

"Get a stretcher over here! He needs medical assistance immediately!" The air was filled with commotion as the figures moved, the din of a helicopter emerging from outside the building. She sat back in shock, as she watched Kenshin being lifted on a stretcher, bussed over to the window, where he was hooked into straps connected to the helicopter. Suddenly, as she caught a glimpse of his body, she reacted.

"Kenshin!" She scrambled up from her position on the ground, trying to reach him before they could take him away. She had to see him. She had to be there for him, and make sure he would be okay. Right now, he looked as if he were already dead, his limbs hanging awkwardly off the edges of the stretcher. His entire face was masked in blood- partly his and partly Soujiro's. She choked back a cry as he was lifted from the window, and was gone from sight. Suddenly she felt faint, tears causing her sight to waver. It was all happening too fast. Soujiro was being tended to by the agents, Kenshin was out of her reach.

A strong hand clutched at her arm, supporting her as she felt the faintness rise. "Miss Kamiya, are you hurt at all? We're going to take you to hospital to make sure you're okay." It was a man's voice, warm and strong.

She looked up at him as he removed his protective helmet from his head. Dark spiky brown hair, a handsomely chiseled face and a protective glint in his eyes that made her feel a sense of relief. "My name is Sanosuke Sagara. I'm sorry we couldn't get here any sooner. You should have never had to been in this situation in the first place."

"Kenshin. Is he going to be okay?"

Sanosuke shook his head emptily. "We're going to do our best. The important thing is that we get you out of here, to somewhere safe where we can take a look at you." He began to lead her by the arm towards the stairs so they could reach the street, as she felt the questions and the words spin through her brain.

"..Megumi…" She murmured the name quietly.

Suddenly Sano stopped walking, his whole demeanor seeming to break apart within a few seconds. His face drained of color, and his eyes seemed to cry out for something. His grip tightened on Kaoru's arm, as he turned her to face him. "What do you know about Megumi? Where is she? Is she still alive!" His voice cracked in desperation.

"He said she was….in a car downstairs."

No sooner had she spoken the words, had Sano reacted. His gun was pulled from his belt, and orders were spilling out of his mouth at the agents still at the window. He was going to save Megumi Takani.

* * *

**A/N: AH! **Sorry for the abrupt ending. All will be explained with the next update, which will be out very, very soon. Well that was the most intense chapter I've ever had to write, so I hope you guys felt the suspense. It look me a long time to work out the events and the dialogue in this chapter, as it was difficult to develop the wacky changes that Kenshin was going to experience. Please let me know what you think, and stick around for the final chapter, which will be an epilogue.

Will Megumi be saved? Is Kenshin still alive? And if he is, what Kaoru say to him?


	10. Epilogue

**A/N**: Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, and for those who stuck around after so long. I'd really like to know what all my readers thought of this story, since I feel like I didn't get a whole lot of feedback on Chapter 9. Have any suggestions or afterthoughts? I love this story and would eventually like to adapt it into an original screenplay! (young James Spader as the Kenshin character….? Anyone else see it…? Haha maybe not...)

I know some of you may be disappointed in the way that I decided to do the final chapter as a type of epilogue, but I think it works out the best this way. You'll see. Or maybe you won't see, and you'll tell me so after you read this, haha. This was originally intended to be very short and purely lighthearted, but it turned out with ten times more angst and ten times longer than I had planned, since there were many emotional loose ends to tie up. Damn these characters and their complicated psyches! Oh well!

"**Life Insured"**

**Epilogue (a.k.a "did you really think I planned to end this thing on a cliffhanger?")**

_Two Weeks Later..._

Sanosuke straightened his tie nervously, his whole body seemingly wired with adrenaline. Was it the ungodly amounts of caffeine he had been living off of lately, or perhaps the nonexistent sleep that his body so desperately begged for? Or maybe it was something emotional and sensitive that his macho side wasn't going to let him get in touch with. Either way, he felt, and was sure he looked, as if a stream roller had had its way with him before leaving him for dead.

He squinted at the reflection bending awkwardly along the panels of the elevator, which was so useless to him that he might as well have been checking his appearance in a concrete wall. Still, he used it as an opportunity to rumple his brown hair into some kind of spiky order. He felt his chin. Stubble that had been there for who knew how long. He was mildly grateful that he couldn't see the redness in his own eyes.

The elevator doors creaked and made a pinging sound as they rumbled open. Sano shuttled his body into the echoing, calmly shaded hallway. His long strides separated the muffled click of shined black shoes as the agent moved down the corridor to the corner room. He paused hesitantly at the closed door, his hand trembling unexplainably over the handle as he drew in breath he would have liked to think was courageous and manly. If this had been a shoot-out, a stakeout or a fistfight, Sano would have run in without a second thought, but now his mind was clouded with doubt. Finally, drawing up his chest in a denial of his own nerves, Sanosuke turned the handle and pushed his way into the room.

There she lay propped up by large pillows, looking rather peaked and drained in a sea of coarse, blue hospital blanket. But even in the dim light of the hospital, with tubes and wires wrapped around her, Megumi was still beautiful. She looked up at him, a miniature smile quirking up the edges of her unnaturally pale lips.

"…Rooster-head…" this time it didn't sound remotely like an insult.

The spiky-haired agent took a step towards her bed, one hand shoving its way into the pocket of his obviously-disheveled pants. He tried to smirk at her, pose smugly and give her a flirtatious wink. He would be cool and collected, and show her exactly the type of suave man that he could be. He would make her knees weak with his dashing words. A million phrases and quips crashed into each other in his head as he stood over her.

He opened his mouth to speak, and only one word tumbled out in an emotion-filled croak. "Megumi…"

* * *

_Sano was out like a shot down the staircase, his long limbs leaping down the stairs in fives and sixes, as he practically flew down them to the bottom floor. He would be too late to rescue her. Even if it had been just minutes, they had already wasted too much time loading Himura into the helicopter and restraining Seta, and now they would have to pay for that with the Fox's life! If his negligence was the cause of her death, Sano didn't know what he would do._

_He peered around the edge of the doorway to see out onto the street. Had the car containing Megumi left already? The backstreet was empty, dim, silent to Sano except for the steady thrum of blood in his ears. He clutched his gun in his hand with uncharacteristically sweaty palms, as he pulled off the safety. If they were gone he would be back at square one. But there was still a chance that whoever had driven Seta here hadn't left yet, didn't know what had gone on inside the building._

_As the thought crossed his mind, a black car with windows dark whipped around the corner with a deafening screech and zoomed past Sano. There it was: the car that he was after. Not wasting even a second, he split out onto the pavement, readying his gun between both hands, low at his side. His muscles pumped as hard as they could to propel him as he followed the car. Suddenly on his knees, the gun cocked expertly in line with the car tires, two sets of two shots were fired in successive bangs that cut through the air as if in a stark and deadly message to the driver._

_With a loud pop, the right rear tire had burst, causing the car to lose control, skidding in a mess of smoke and burning rubber. Before the driver had the time to move, Sano was at the door. "F.B.I.!" He roared, but it was a mere courtesy. He didn't need the title right now to intimidate- his actions would speak for themselves from now on. With fierce and unrelenting strength, the agent threw open the door._

_Not giving the driver enough time even to raise his own gun, Sano had barreled into him with one fist buried in the other man's shirtfront, and the other slamming efficiently into his face with a sound "thwack." The large man underneath Sano struggled with a grunt ripping from his throat, trying to pull his trigger on the federal agent, or at least use the gun as a battering tool. He was able to get one solid hit across Sano's temple, but it was no use. The lanky man only smirked grimly after the hit, a long trickle of dark blood spilling over his eye menacingly. This hired bodyguard was not going to lay another finger on him. In a frighteningly swift motion, he had dislodged the gun from the man's thick fingers with a twist, and had turned it back on him._

_He shook with barely-contained rage as he shoved the barrel of the gun into the hollow of the man's cheek. "Where is Megumi Takani?" The driver flinched under the cold metal of the gun, and jerked his head and eyes towards the backseat, which was obscured by a tinted bulletproof panel. _

_Sanosuke threw a flurry of punches into the man's face, each one growing progressively more powerful. And then he stopped, to drag him up by his collar so he could see him face-to-face. "If she dies, I'm gonna make you wish you'd never lived," he growled. Delivering him a final blow, Sano's specialty, he slapped a pair of handcuffs onto the man and left him sprawled across the driver's seat._

_He scrambled out of the front seat, a jolt of apprehension shooting through his stomach, as he pulled the back door open. There Megumi was, curled up unconscious on the floor, her wrists and ankles bound. She looked already dead, no color in her cheeks, her beautiful face marred by cuts and bruises, and her body peppered in wounds. What had they done to her? He glanced up the street, to see three other agents rushing towards the car to assist him._

_"Get some medical assistance here!" He heard his own voice hitch._

_He crawled into the back and pulled her up on the seat. Her breathing was so shallow she might as well have not been breathing at all. He moved strong, slightly bloodied fingers up to cradle her head with pained gentleness. _

_"I'm so sorry…"he whispered, shakily._

_

* * *

_

Sanosuke gave her a smile that didn't hold for very long before it started to waver. With an awkward shrug, he unceremoniously thrust a bouquet of flowers in to her hands. She could tell that he had been rough with them, as it seemed as if half the blooms had their petals hanging off at odd angles. But knowing his nature, the roughness was likely unintentional. She chuckled wryly under her breath as she leaned her nose in delicately to sniff the flowers.

"Uh…I got them for you at the gift shop." Sano scratched the back of his head uncomfortably.

"They're blue violets," she stated, turning her eyes expectantly to him. "What is that supposed to mean?"

He looked very cornered in a very typical male way. "Er…the lady said that you would like them."

She laughed at his expression as she set the flowers on the bedside table. "She was right." It was rare to see Sanosuke Sagara looking so cowed, and she reveled in the moment. Usually by now they would have already been embroiled in a heavy match of words and flirtatious quips. She might even have called it unnerving to see him this serious. Sanosuke was never serious with her.

"The nurses told me that you've been here everyday to see me, Sano…"

"Heh…well…uh…" He looked as if he had been caught off guard by the statement, and he gulped deeply.

"…And I wanted to thank you." A red blush colored his face.

Sano suddenly moved to sit heavily in the chair beside her bed- the same he had occupied every day until now. "This is all my fault. I should have never let you get involved with something so dangerous…I…I should have been there to back you up earlier." He raised a shaky hand to clutch his face in frustration. Megumi opened her mouth slightly in surprise. She felt as if she were watching his heart strain in front of her…as if the mighty Sanosuke Sagara were breaking apart at her expense. He rubbed his hand over his face, and blew out a labored breath. Then his deep brown eyes, bloodshot with stress, rose to meet hers. "I thought I had lost you for sure. I don't know what I would have done if that had happened."

She smiled somewhat tearfully, as she lifted a cool hand to his cheek, a warm feeling spreading through her chest. And for the first time, she was speechless.

Kenshin's fingers flexed nervously on the top of the steering wheel. He took three deep breaths to steel himself. The car had been in "park" for five minutes already, but he couldn't seem to find the right moment to leave the car. In fact, he was worried about exactly what he would do when he saw Kaoru Kamiya. What would she have to say to him? What could he say to her that would allow her to forgive him?

It had been two weeks since the night of his fight with Soujiro, but he had not talked to Kaoru since. He had spent a large chunk of the fourteen days recovering in a hospital bed, under the watchful eye of the F.B.I. The agents that had drifted in and out of his room, as he drifted in and out of consciousness, had passed on information from the doctors. He had suffered severe blood loss, a mild concussion, among various other injuries. The days had been a blur of drugged sleep and a steady line of new faces that had introduced themselves and both apologized and thanked him for his help, in a very impersonal and formal way. No one had really been able to provide much solid information or explanation to him except for Sanosuke Sagara, but even he hadn't been able to visit most of the time. After the agents had run a few standard questions by him, and had promised to reconnect, the doctors had allowed him to go home and rest.

But she hadn't once come to see him. _Not that I can blame her…_After all, he had been the reason Kaoru's life had been in danger in the first place. And then she had been forced to watch as he had done the unspeakable. _I lost control of myself_. He gripped the steering wheel with pent-up force, shutting his eyes tight, and feeling disgust towards himself. If the fight had gone on any longer, what would have happened? Kenshin had broken his own rules…he had let violence drive his actions. He had promised to never go down that path again, and now he was no better than Soujiro…he was no different from Enishi.

Kenshin wanted to at least see Kaoru, though…he wanted to make sure she was okay, he wanted to apologize, and then he would leave her alone forever. He hung his head, finally releasing the wheel to cradle his head in his hands. He struggled to swallow the feelings that kept rising within him with undeniable force. A large part of him wanted desperately to forget that the fight had ever happened. If only he could be worthy enough to deserve Kaoru's affection! But a girl like Kaoruneeded someone young and strong who wouldn't put her life on the line. She deserved somebody far better than him.

Taking one last deep, steadying breath, Kenshin knew that it was time to get it over with. He slid out of the front seat of the car, and walked towards the entrance of the Imperial Insurance building.

* * *

As soon as Kenshin entered the office he knew something was different. He couldn't pinpoint the feeling, since nothing had changed physically in the office. All the same old faces that, to him, characterized the office were there. The old man by the door, who had been working there since the top floors had been added, and repeatedly told everyone he only stayed for the delicious coffee. They all knew he was there for his pension. And then there was the row of middle-aged women whose gum-snapping was louder and more constant than the tapping of their computer keys, who all lived for gossiping about the beautiful thirty-something Latin man, Eduardo, who worked at the front desk. The horn-rimmed spectacled assistant manager who was always lapping at Saito's feet like a doting puppy. All the burgeoning office romances and secrets and memos and buttocks copied with much glee in the copy room by the interns.

He didn't belong among them anymore. Kenshin limped down the corridor to Kaoru's cubicle, his wounded leg still causing him to grimace with pain, and he felt suspicious eyes on him. He remembered that he had been gone for weeks now without explanation. And nobody would have expected or believed the reason. He realized with a start that he could never again have the same simple mindset as before. He couldn't sit at a desk any longer and watch the clouds pass above the skyscrapers while forging through pointless documents and contracts. He couldn't hide any longer from the questions that he hadn't found answers to, and expect to be happy. He would have to find peace elsewhere. He had to leave this place once and for all, and find a quiet life elsewhere. He wondered how many of the people here understood that feeling, as he watched them chat idly to one another or shoot him disdainful glances. He straightened his shoulders, not sparing them a glance.

He finally reached Kaoru's desk, and in the instant that he saw it, he felt his face burn with shame. Kaoru and all of her things were gone. Of course she had left already. Why would she want to stay in a place with such bad memories? Why would she want to risk running into him again if she could help it?

His shoulders sagging heavily, he returned to his own desk. He frowned and sighed at the sight of his things, seeing how ridiculous they were. Had he really been trying to suppress himself this whole time by keeping this kind of order? It was silly, he thought. Even if he had known Kaoru for just a short time, she had taught him that that kind of success was only achieved through human contact. He had been wrong about that for ten years. His salvation was in people and in helping them. He thanked her silently for that lesson.

Suddenly furious at himself once again for everything that had happened, he lunged at the desk, and began throwing things haphazardly into a box. Staplers, paperclips, keyboard all fell out of their perfect order into a disordered mass. He supposed that gave him a small measure of satisfaction. So involved was he with his own thoughts, that he didn't hear the abrupt cough from behind him, that carried an obvious amount of distaste and sarcasm. Only Saitou could cough with sarcasm.

"So glad you finally decided to join us, Himura. It must be so nice to live in a world where an entire corporation revolves around your every whim." Kenshin whipped around to see Saitou Hajime, as tall and imposing as ever, with a smug look morphing his features into a wolfish smirk. Saitou's smirk wavered slightly as he saw Kenshin's face, and it was only then that Kenshin realized exactly how he must have looked. He was still pale and sickly-looking, walking with an exaggerated limp, and his face was cut up by a sword, with his left eye black and blue. He stared Saitou down, not flinching under the yellow gaze.

"You waltz in here after two weeks of unexplained absence, you look like you just got mugged, and you aren't even wearing a tie. You look weak and _stupid_. This is _not _the type of company image Imperial Insurance is aiming to project, Himura." He spat out the name with a sardonic twist, waving the pen between his fingers as if it were a lit cigarette.

Kenshin could feel his insides boiling with rage. Saitou didn't frighten him anymore. If the rest of this office was living empty and selfish lives, then Saitou would have to be their ringleader. Kenshin turned away from his boss, closing his eyes to calm his thoughts. His whole body was tense with annoyance, but as he opened his eyes he continued to pack up the items on his desk, and chose to ignore the manager. He was teetering on the edge of provocation. His hand shook as he emptied his pencils into the box, letting them clatter over the rest of his possessions.

Saitou sniffed in displeasure. He took loud, sauntering strides closer to Kenshin, who could practically feel the eyes narrowing behind his back. "Don't turn your back on me, Himura. I'm not going to take this kind of attitude from you. If you don't straighten up, I'm going to have to take drastic measures. I don't care how long you've been working here, either."

Kenshin's hand rested on the last item on his desk- the portrait of Tomoe. He let one finger slide over the glass before he snatched it up, and laid it neatly on top of the other items in the box. Having packed up all of his things, Kenshin brushed past Saitou without even looking at him, and began to move as swiftly as he could toward the door. He was having trouble containing his anger.

Saitou growled in offense, and he barked out at Kenshin. "Himura! Get back here this instant! If you walk out that door right now, you're fired!"

Kenshin focused solely on the door in front of him, blowing hot air out of his nostrils in an expression of anger. "I quit!" he threw over his shoulder with a biting tone.

"What did you say!" Saitou began to stalk after him, which attracted the attention of the workers who had been buzzing around them. It was not often that any of them saw Saitou's impeccable cool shatter. Maybe it was because nobody had ever stood up to him before.

Kenshin froze in front of the open door, breathing in deeply, his lips curling up in a snarl. And then, he did something that even he was shocked by. He turned slowly to face his boss, his box of belongings bending underneath the strength of his tensed fingers. Saitou stopped dead in the walkway, pierced by Kenshin's glare, as if all that pent-up hatred were radiating outward through his steely blue eyes.

"Fuck off, Saitou," he spat.

He left the manager standing in the corridor, mouth hanging open in surprise.

* * *

As Kenshin walked out into the parking garage, he was still stunned by his own actions. He couldn't help but chuckle a little though, as he remembered the unbridled shock that had painted Saitou's face. He wouldn't have denied that it had been a small victory to be able to counter Saitou with his own biting words. Now that he had severed ties with the insurance company, he could leave the city to wherever the road took him. He knew he had a long journey ahead of him.

When he saw his car though, his body stopped moving, and all of his thoughts and plans seemed to rush out of his head. For, leaning on the back of his car was Kaoru Kamiya, giving him a nervous and worried smile. Kenshin felt something inside of him melt to see her there, as if she had broken through his defenses just with that one look. He walked dazedly toward her, a part of him wondering if this was a dream, another convinced that she had come to rebuke him.

Before he could think of anything to say, she had already spoken. "Kenshin…" she murmured, her smile widening in concession.

He placed the box in his hands on top of the car, turning away from her so he could shade his face with his bangs. He couldn't even think of where to begin. "Miss Kaoru…" his voice drifted off in a sigh, as he swallowed a lump of emotion that was still threatening to overflow through his words. If only he could tell her exactly how he felt. But that wasn't what she had come there for.

"Kenshin, I came here to apologize." Kenshin's head shot up immediately, his eyes wide in surprise. She bit her lip meekly, as if she were ashamed. But why? "I was the one who caused you so much trouble. If I hadn't insisted on going along with you, you wouldn't have gotten into that fight, and you would have never been hurt." Her eyes flickered over the wounds on his face in concern.

He opened his mouth, but couldn't think of any way to respond. She was apologizing to him? But _he _had been the one that Shishio was after. He had dragged her into it. "Miss Kaoru-"

"And I also wanted to…thank you." She continued, and her eyes dipped down, away from his. She looked beautiful, a light blush brightening her cheeks, her dark hair falling around her face. "You...you saved my life, and you put your own life in danger. I wanted to visit you since the fight but…" her blush darkened even more. "But I thought you wouldn't want to see me."

Kenshin felt as if the whole world had been turned upside down. What had he done to deserve any of this? He should be the one apologizing her, begging for her forgiveness, as he had intended to do. And yet, here he was, Kaoru standing in front of him with a sorry and a thank you. "Miss Kaoru, I don't understand!" his voice was quiet and tender, with a hint of confusion, and she smiled a little bit. "I should be the one who is ashamed. I was the one who put _your _life in danger. You don't owe me anything!"

"Kenshin, you were brave, and you did the best that you could. I'm sure…I'm sure Tomoe would have been proud," she gulped, her voice moving into a whisper.

Kenshin frowned, his violet eyes clouding in frustration. He had planned to leave the city without any regrets, but seeing her like this, so sweet and untouchable caused his heart to cry out. He didn't want to leave without her. But he couldn't very well stay here… Kaoru needed something more, something that he couldn't give her. He spoke once more. He had to make her understand the seriousness of what he had done. "But, Miss Kaoru-"

Without warning, his words were silenced by her lips on his. He melted into the feeling, the sensation of the kiss like heaven. His hands found his way to her sides, and without thinking, he had pulled her up against him, drowning in the sweetness and perfection of the moment. They separated slowly, their hot breaths mingling as they brushed noses. Kenshin panted heavily, his eyes still shut tight. He couldn't believe it. Kaoru had kissed him.

She reached a hand up to his cheek, and his violet eyes fluttered open to meet hers as he felt it. Her face was flushed, eyes bright. Light fingers moved loving across his cross-shaped scar. "Now do you understand?" He searched her eyes, wondering in awe over this girl…How one simple gesture had nullified everything he had been considering the past two weeks. There was so much now that he had to figure out. But somehow, with a new fire lit in his heart, he wasn't so frightened about that journey.

"I'd be careful with him, Missy!" They both jumped apart from each other as the deep voice boomed from behind them. Kenshin and Kaoru turned to see Sanosuke Sagara walking towards them, his tall frame impressively almost reaching the parking lot rafters. "He's fresh out of intensive care. Anything more than kissing and he might bleed to death!" He winked playfully at the two, and Kaoru's face looked like a tomato.

Kenshin scowled lightly at the innuendo, but still eyed the federal agent with respect. "It's good to see you again Agent Sagara, that it is."

Kaoru grinned to herself. _That it is. _She never thought she would have missed that phrase.

Sano nodded in agreement, his body in a relaxed slouch. They could both tell that he hadn't had much sleep. "I told Missy that you would be here. I decided to come down to thank you one last time for everything you did for us. I know that we…that I…put you in a difficult and dangerous situation, and that was wrong of me. I regret that either of you had to be involved."

Kenshin looked solemn for a moment as he considered the apology, before replying in a calm tone. "You did what you had to do, and you could not control what Hiko Seijuro and Shishio's organization tried to do. You did everything that was in your power, I am sure. And I am grateful that you were able to find Kaoru and I in the end, that I am." Sanosuke felt pride in hearing the older man's praise. While Kenshin was a civilian, he could sense in the man's eyes an overwhelming sense of strength, experience and depth.

Kaory spoke up, the blush still lingering on her cheeks as she met Sano's eyes. "That's one thing I've been wondering. How exactly did you know where to find us?"

Sano laughed at the question, reaching into his breast pocket with two fingers to pull something out. He held it out to Kaoru. It was his business card, just like the one that she had found in Kenshin's pocket. "You had one of these with you. I'm sure you noticed that it wasn't made out of paper. That's because it has a tracking device in it. Once we realized that Shishio had sent someone after you, we were able to pinpoint your location…Sorry it wasn't sooner." He looked truly regretful, as he accepted the card back from Kaoru.

"How is Miss Megumi doing, Agent Sagara?" Kenshin asked, a questioning smile on his lips. "You two were partners, correct?"

Kaoru slyly noticed the change in his demeanor when the female agent's name was mentioned. Sano had kept the same rough exterior, but his eyes had a far away look in them, and a slightly wistful smile was on his face. "Yes, Megumi's my partner. We weren't sure for a while, but it seems like with some recovery she'll be just fine."

"I'm glad." Kenshin smiled a genuine smile, his violet eyes kind.

"Me too," said Kaoru.

"And…Soujiro?" The question was more hesitant, carried guilt and fear along with it.

"He'll be just fine. The fact that we captured him gives us plenty of leverage against Shishio, though. You're the reason for that, Kenshin." Kenshin pursed his lips in response.

"Anyway," Sanosuke said abruptly, as if to avoid any more uncomfortable topics. "I should be going…I'll let you two get back to what you were doing before I interrupted." This time they both blushed. The agent chuckled to himself. "You know, Kenshin," he spoke with laughter in his voice. "I noticed you held your own against a professional assassin. That's very impressive. Maybe you should become a federal agent!"

Sano's smile faded when he got chills up his spine.

….Or maybe not.

**THE END**

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**A/N: **Hehe did anyone really think I was going to keep Kenshin and Kaoru apart? My general rule for this story was to at every turn ask myself what I would want to read in a fanfiction. And, therefore, it had to end with warm and fuzzy feelings!

Thanks to everyone for reading! Writing this story was a complete blast, and I'm sorry it's over. Please let me know what you thought of it! I created some forums in my profile, too, in case you have anything that you want addressed (I would love to hear from you guys).


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